Our Home Too
by cocoalover1956
Summary: In a deadly divided city, fear and hate keep people apart. But a group of teen rebels are about to change everything. They will have to face society, betrayal and thier own emotions if they want to survive. Modern High School AU Formerly Yuansu City. THIS STORY HAS BEEN ABANDONED
1. It Begins

Inspired by Angelfly06's _The City is at War_

Yuansu City was a divided place. There were many kinds of people living there, but they were shoved into their own districts and seldom interacted in a personal or casual way with people from different districts. The four main districts were Shui, Diqui, Huo, and Kongqi. Those districts were then divided into different neighborhoods. They were all connected by a vast, elaborate subway system, a failed attempt at uniting the people of the city. Zhong Xing was the downtown area and a "neutral zone", a place where people could socialize with those of a different district, though most choose not to. The rest was non-residential areas were known collectively as Tengah. Workplaces were not legally segregated, but most interactions were strictly business-only.

Shui was a quiet, (usually) peaceful district that was divided into two neighborhoods on opposite sides on the city. To the north, Tui was small but prosperous. Most residents were middle class, but it had a few very wealthy families. In contrast, La, the southern portion, was very poor. It was the frequent victim of attacks by gangs from Huo who were often referred as "raiders" because there was almost always a kidnapping- or sometimes even a murder- involved when they struck. The people of Shui were known to be gentle, polite people who rarely went looking for fights but know how to strike back when hit.

Diqui was the largest district and took up most of the eastern part of the city. The people in that part of the city were known to be tough, solid, and very grounded. Most people in that district were poor, but there was a sizable middle class and tiny, but powerful aristocracy. Ba Sing Se was the largest neighborhood in the city and took up almost half of Diqui. The other neighborhoods were Omashu to the far west, Gaoling in the center, and Chin in the South, which had a rivalry with the Diqui "island" of Kyoshi, which was separated from the rest of Diqui by a strip of Tengah.

Huo was the western-most and the richest district in the city. Much of the city's wealth was concentrated in the Aka neighborhood on the western half of the district. Directly east of it was Buru, the slightly uglier little sister of Aka. But even so, most people were lower middle class at worst. The people of Huo were proud and loyal. Driven by a mad love for their district, they thought themselves to be superior to anyone else and were notorious for the raiders that attacked other parts of the city.

Kongqi was a small, fragmented district dividing into four neighborhoods: Namjjog to the South, Bugjjog to the North, Dongjjog to the east and Seojjog to the west. It had a small population and was rather poor, not that the residents minded. They were simple people, non-violent and relaxed, without much concern for material things.

Issho Academy was the most special place in the city. It was located in the heart of Zhong Xing and was the only school that accepted students from any and all districts. The Heads of the City Council voted that they city needed to loosen up and let its citizens interact more. The Council Heads of Huo were adamant about maintaining the status quo but they were out-voted. It had taken a year, during which the number of attacks from raiders skyrocketed, but the school was finished and waiting to educate fresh young minds.

But of the Huo Council heads would never forget that humiliating defeat.

)-()-()-()-(

Katara's hands were shaking, partly out of nervousness and partly out of excitement, as she gripped the straps of her brown messenger bag. Her older brother Sokka slouched on the subway seat scowling.

"Geez," he grumbled "Why do I have to go to this dumb school too? I mean you're the one who wants to go there. Isn't that enough for dad?"

"Sokka, what are you complaining about?" Katara scowled back "We're gonna be a part of history!"

"Not if the raiders get us first." He muttered gruffly.

Katara clenched her teeth, then relaxed and smiled. "No way. I'm not gonna let you ruin this for me. Stay crabby and moody for all I care, but I'm gonna enjoy this year." Her grin grew wider as she thought about the kinds of people she might meet; after all, Yuansu City was huge place and she never got to meet anyone outside her neighborhood. "Who knows what kind of people we'll meet."

She looked down at her outfit, hoping she looking presentable. Katara was often meticulous in her appearance; she wore her uniform-a white blouse, black skirt, knee-socks, and Mary Jane's-clean and ironed and her dark brown hair in a tight, neat braid. Sokka couldn't care less what he looked like; Katara had to make sure he even wore his uniform-collared shirt, tie, vest, dark pants, and dress shoes. She touched the school crest sewn onto her purple vest with her tan fingers, wondering what to expect.

Suddenly, the subway car jerked to stop, knocking Sokka's head back against the wall. "Yup, I'm gonna love doing this every day." he muttered. The siblings walked off the train and into the station. The stations in Namjjog were not much cleaner or nicer that the ones in La, but they were much less crowded. Katara felt her heart pounding in her chest much too quickly and too intensely to be healthy. She had never stepped foot out of La in all her fourteen years of life and now that she had, she felt as if she was breaking some sacred rule. True, subways were neutral ground, but she felt a strange sense of freedom in her heart that she loved.

Just before she and Sokka boarded the next subway car, Katara spotted a boy wearing the black, white, and purple uniform of Issho Academy. He covered his black hair with a yellow cap that had a blue arrow pointing down on the front. She waved to him with a friendly smile. The boy waved back, but was distracted and almost walked into a wall.

"Hey, look out!" she cried. Too late. The poor kid tripped over his own feet and landed face-first face on the concrete floor. Katara left Sokka there looking bewildered and ran up to make sure he was alright

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized quickly.

The boy looked up at her with bright grey eyes, sprang back up, and grinned. "It's no problem. I'm Aang."

"My name's Katara and that's my brother." She pointed to Sokka, who was boarding the subway.

"Hurry up, little sister." He warned.

"You going on that subway?" Aang asked "So am I! C'mon!" He jumped up and took her by the hand, leading her to the subway car. They managed to hop in just before the doors closed and took their seats across from Sokka.

"You can let go of my sister now." He said in deadpan. It was just then that Katara realized that she and Aang were still holding hands; that is until, Aang jerked his hand from hers, embarrassed.

"Sorry." He blushed.

"Sokka," she chastised "don't be rude. I'm sorry about my brother, Aang. He's kind of an idiot sometimes."

"Hey!" Sokka pouted indignantly.

"It's true." Katara shot back.

"Hey," Aang broke in "Are are you guys from here? I don't think I've ever seen you guys around Namjjog before."

"No, we're from La." Katara replied, forgetting her previous anger "You have the same uniform as us, so I guess you're going to Issho Academy too."

"Yeah, I am." smiled Aang "It's so cool that anyone can go there. You know we might have the same classes. It's funny, I'd never see you guys at the school I was suppose to go to. Without Issho Academy and that new bill, we might have never met. Ya know, since your Shui kids and I'm from Kongqi."

"Well I'm glad we're all gonna be classmates." Katara agreed. She was surprise at how sad she felt about the idea of never meeting Aang. She'd known him for all of five minutes but she already thought of him as a friend. A very close friend.

The subway jerked and shook for another ten minutes before reaching the station. The trio navigated through the thick crowd and made it to their next subway.

"This is crazy! Too many subways. We should've taken a taxi instead!" Sokka grumbled "Why couldn't Dad just get someone to drive us to school?"

"Ugh, you're so spoiled Sokka. Get over it." Katara complained. She turned to Aang "Taking the subway was my idea. I figured it would be more fun to travel like normal people."

"Aren't you guys normal?" Aang asked with a slightly sarcastic look.

Katara turned to him said "Well, we're pretty normal. But our dad's part of City council, so we don't have to take the subways; we could get someone to drive us if we wanted to."

"Yeah, so why don't we?" Sokka interrupted.

"Because I just don't want to, okay." Katara snapped. "Besides, then we wouldn't have met Aang." She didn't notice, but Aang was beaming.

One last brief ride later, the three teenagers stepped into the light of Zhong Xing. Katara felt her stomach flip and her hands shaking again but this time it was out of excitement rather than nervousness. Zhong Xing was full of tall, gleaming skyscrapers that made her feel so much smaller that she really was. It was amazing how little she knew about her own city.

She looked at Aang, who was just as awestruck. "You know what?" she began "Technically, this is our home too."

"What?" the boys asked in unison.

She blushed at her sudden, odd comment and struggled to explain, "We all live in Yuansu City and since this is part of Yuansu City, technically we live here too. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean. Wow Katara, I never thought of it like that." Aang exclaimed. For some reason, that made Katara a bit upset, but she shook it off and looked up to her school; it was just a few blocks from the subway station. "C'mon," Sokka called "Do you want to be late?"

The school was as just as beautiful as the rest of Zhong Xing. The exterior was white and looked almost polished. It was at least five stories tall and covered a whole block. The architecture was Asian and the building looked a little like the Forbidden City in China. That is, if the Forbidden City had countless teenagers walking through the doors with backpacks and school supplies.

Upon entering, Katara saw students crowding around a bulletin board with some kind of list on it. As she was walking over there, she walked over to the crowd, she bumped into a boy. He was about her brother's age, with dark hair covering most of his face.

"Sorry." She gulped. He didn't say a word, but only kept walking away. Katara frowned '_What a rude guy_.' she thought as she paused to stare at the boy's retreating form.

By the time she got the bulletin board, Aang and Sokka were already there. "Katara, you're in Room 216." Sokka informed.

"Huh?" She asked. Aang pointed to her name on the board. "You're on the second floor." He replied. "I'm on the second floor too, but I'm in Room 226."

"I'm on the third floor because I'm a sophomore, Room 311. You freshmen have to stay on the second floor, so I guess this is goodbye. Later." Sokka walked off to his own class and melted into the huge crowd.

_'Figures he'd ditch us when he got the chance.' _Katara thought as she and Aang went the up the stairs before going their separate ways. Aang turn back and cried "Later Katara!" across the hallway. Suddenly, but only for a moment, everyone stared at her. Katara blushed and smiled shyly before running to Room 216.

The classroom had twenty brand new desks and walls covered with cheesy posters about self-esteem, respect and good grades. She went to sit down in a seat in the middle of the class, only to bump into a visibly upset girl. She was pretty, with pale green eyes covered by short jet-black bangs; the rest of her hair was tied back with a green hairband.

"That's my seat." She hissed. She was short, thin and looked rather fragile, but she seemed to exude the authority and confidence of a comic book superhero.

"Well, excuse me," Katara replied, annoyed "How was I supposed to know?" She got up and looked for another desk but the girl stopped her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't wanna make enemies on the first day, but you should really watch where you're going."

"That's not the best way to make friends; you should watch more TV if you wanna know how its done." Katara noted, calming down. "I'm Katara."

"I'll make a note of that." she laughed "My name's Toph. Sorry, but you'll have to take another seat."

"Or maybe it is the best way to make friends." Katara joked as she moved and sat in the next row.

"Yeah, but…you don't sound like anyone in I've ever met in Diqui." Toph replied.

Katara was surprise. Why, she wasn't sure. Perhaps she just assued anyone willing to talk to her had to be from the same distric. But then again, you can't tell which district someone's from by thier attitude. "You're from Diqui? I'm from Shui."

"Yeah. I'm from Diqui." Toph's voice became flat and awkward. She turned and sat in her desk, her back to Katara.

_'There goes a good friend.' _She thought,wishing she had chosen a different seat.

Just as she sat down, the teacher walked in. He was tall and authorative in a way more frightening than Toph's. He stared the class into silence and began "I am Sifu. Long Feng. I will not tolerate any failure. You came to learn? I expect you to work you hardest if we're not to have any problems. Understood? Good." Long Feng had a cold, demanding voice that seemed to cut right into his students; Katara had to stop herself from visibly cringing.

_'Suddenly, I'm not so excited for school.' _she thought.

"Now," Long Feng continued "I will need a volunteer to pass out your schedules."

No one replied. Long Feng looked at each one of them, memorizing their faces. "You," he pointed to Toph. Toph said nothing. The boy behind her nudged her.

"Who, me?" she shook her head and answered "I'm blind."

The class snickered at her declaration. "Silence!" Long Feng commanded. In an instant, it was quiet enough that Katara could hear the kid behind her breathing.

"What to mean you're blind?" he asked Toph in a hard voice.

"I mean I can't see." She replied plainly.

He looked at her for a minute "That is not an excuse." He insisted "What is your name?"

"Toph Bei Fong."

Long Feng's eyes widened with recognition. "Very well then. You'll do it." He decided pointing to Katara. She gulped and got up. "I'm Katara."

"I asked for your assistance, not your name."

'_Figures you wouldn't care to know my name, you creep.'_ she thought grumpily.

)-()-()-()-(

The rest of morning passed without incident. Two classes later, Katara was back on the first floor in the cafeteria. It was in the back of the school and had tall ceilings and huge windows on the back wall that made the room as bright as the outside. Oddly though, the room was pretty cold. The floor was stone tile, tables were made of new, shiny metal, and chairs were made of fine wood; nothing was soft or warm. _'At least the food's not so bad.'_ Katara thought. She spotted Toph sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. Forgetting Aang and Sokka, she immediately went to sit next to her.

"Is this your seat too?" she teased.

"It might be. Glad you asked this time." Toph smiled and moved over."You don't mind sitting next to a Diqui girl?

"Not if you don't mind sitting next to a Shui girl."

"Only if she's cool." Toph joked.

"Then it's settled." Katara smiled and sat next to her new friend. "Can you believe how creepy that f-"

"Katara!" Aang appeared out of nowhere and took a seat across from her "Who's you're friend?"

"Oh hey, Aang. This is Toph, from my homeroom class. Toph, this is Aang." Katara looked around the cafeteria. "Aang, have you seen Sokka?"

"Yeah, but he said he was gonna sit with the sophomores."

"Yeah, I said that but they weren't gonna sit with me." Sokka grumbled.

"When did you get here?" Katara cried, surprised by her brother's sudden appearance. He didn't look very happy; his face was downcast and his shoulder sagged with disappointment.

"What's wrong Sokka?" Aang asked.

"Doesn't matter," her shrugged "'Cause apparently I'm stuck with you guys."

"Not cool enough for the big kids?" Toph taunted lightly.

"Who the heck are you?" Sokka demanded before taking a bite of his lunch.

"This is m-." Katara answered

"Thanks Sugar Queen, but I can speak for myself. The name's Toph and I'm a proud Diqui girl." She grinned

'_Sugar Queen?'_ Katara wondered in her mind _'Where'd she come up with that one?'_

"Diqui?" Sokka inquired "Geez, Katara, to you even _want_ to hang out with anyone from your own district? I mean really, a Kongqi boy" he pointed to Aang "and a Diqui girl." he pionted at Toph.

"What?" Katara sniffed "Isn't the point of the school? Aren't we suppose to learn about people from other districts and neighborhoods?"

"Sugar Queen has a point." Toph agreed.


	2. The Coffee Shop

That beautiful, wonderful girl from school took his breath away. Every time she looked his way, Aang felt his heart go into overdrive. That morning on the subway, he had fallen for a girl named Katara, both literally and figuratively. He was a firm believer in love at first sight and he was sure that was what he was feeling. How could he not love her? She was beautiful with glowing tan skin, long, shiny hair, and eyes a blue as cornflowers. She was so kind, hanging out with the lonely blind girl without caring what people would think. And so full of life. Her laugh was adorable. He smile was –

"Aang?"

"Huh, what?"

His guardian, Gyatso, looked at him with concerned eyes. He began, "Aang, you've been distracted since you got home; you've barely touched your dinner. Is everything alright?"

Aang smiled "Actually, yes. Everything's fine. In fact, everything's great. I made a few new friends at school today."

"Oh really? That's nice. Tell me about them." Gyatso was pleased to hear that Aang was adjusting well.

"Well, first there's Katara, in my fourth class, she's…really cool. Awesome. Her brother, Sokka, is a sophomore. He's kind of a dork, but really funny. Toph's a girl we sit with at lunch. She's pretty cool too."

"That's great.." Gyatso got up from the dinner table to put his plate in the sink. "Now finish your food and get to bed. Wait, don't you have any homework?"

"No, it's only the first day." He grinned petting his St. Bernard, Appa. Appa licked his owner's hand affectionately.

"Are you sure?"

"Totally sure."

"Alright, then. Goodnight, Aang. Goodnight Appa." He turned to go to bed, leaving Aang alone with his dog in the small dining room.

"She not just cool," Aang whispered to Appa while scratching behind his ear "She incredible."

)-()-()-()-(

Suki wrapped her thick, green jacket around her body, which was toned from years of martial arts classes. The temperature had dropped dramatically from the day before; everyone in Zhong Xing was wearing jackets, scarves, and mittens as the feel of winter crept into the fall air. _'It's still too early to be this cold.' _she complained bitterly in her mind. She desperately wished her father hadn't forced her to go to a new school for the second year of her high school career; she had gone from being a kind of leader at her beloved school in Kyoshi, to a complete nobody at Issho Academy. _'I'm not even a Coulcil Head's kid. I should have to go.'_

Even more infuriating was the boy in her last class of the day. He was loud, rude, and worst of all sexist. Apparently, their teacher, Sifu Tahn, must have been as exhausted as his students because all he did was ask their names, give a brief lecture on the history of Yuansu, and then let them do as they pleased.

She hoped to impress her classmates with tales of her intense training. With a few minutes she got into a heated discussion with a boy named Sokka. His exact words were "But you're a girl. What could youpossibly know about fighting? Girls are suppose to fix stuff and help out the guys." She blew up and almost tackled him, but fortunately another girl, Mai, calmed her down before she got into some serious trouble.

Suki continue down Zhong Xing's broad streets until she came to Issho Academy._ 'I hate this place.'_ she seethed.

"Suki!" her stomach clenched at the sound of Sokka's voice calling her from the main entrance of the school. She didn't have the option of running away and she'd have to meet him again at the end of the day anyway, so she took a deep breath and tried to keep her temper in check.

"What do you want?" she hissed quietly.

"To apologize." He relied sincerely. Suki was genuinely surprise, but suspicious.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" she asked doubtfully.

"What? A guy can't be sorry without some huge, life changing event taking place." He grinned sarcastically.

Suki put her hand on her hip, "You get off this time. But talk like that again, and people will be wearing black."

"I'm gonna guess that means we're friends." he held out his hand for her to shake.

"Only if stop being a jerk." she said as she took his hand.

)-()-()-()-(

Azula was the perfect girl. Pretty. Athletic. Intelligent. She was way too good for the filthy kids of Issho Academy. She was used to cultured, disciplined classmates, but these little brats were crude and disgusting. In her mind, they weren't worthy of her presence. Of course, she had no say in the matter; all the children of City Council members, like herself, her brother, and their friend Mai, were required to attend Issho to "set a good example".

As she entered the school, she spotted her other friend, Ty Lee, running up to her, her long brown braid bouncing with every step. She figure Ty Lee begged her parents to let her come to Issho. It made sense: she'd be near her friends and away from her sisters. "Azula I really need you're help with something but I'm not sure if you'll do it. Do it please. For me?" she spoke so quickly that her sentence came out like one long word and she seemed out of breath at the end.

"Slow down, Ty Lee; I can't understand you." Azula snapped.

Ty Lee took a deep breath and started again. "I need you to try out for cheerleading with me."

"Why? Since when are you interested in cheerleading? I thought gymnastics were your thing."

"Because, they don't have a gymnastics team here. And you can only try out in pairs, so I need you to be my partner. I promises, once we get in you can quit." Ty Lee pleaded.

"You now me Ty Lee; I never quit." Azula scoffed. "Fine, I'll help."

"You'd do that for me?" Ty Lee beamed.

"Of course, but mostly I'm going it for me."

Ty Lee furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean for you?"

"Head cheerleader is a good title for me."

"Um… yeah it is!" Ty Lee replied with a forced smile. She hated how Azula made everything about her, but she loved her friend and went along with it anyway. "You would make a great head cheerleader."

"Ty Lee, have you see Zu-zu?" By "Zu-zu", she meant her older brother Zuko, a junior. Ty Lee shook her head. "Oh, well. He'll have to come sometime, unless he wants to disappoint Dad more than usual."

Ty Lee gasped. "You shouldn't talk about your brother like that; it's mean."

"It's not mean if it's true." Azula insisted. "C'mon, we can't be late for class."

)-()-()-()-(

Sokka walked into his first class for the day in a bright mood that was immediately dampened by the arrival of another student. Mai. Gosh, she was so depressing. She was in his last class as well, and she seemed to suck the life out of a room with her hard eyes and dull voice. To be honest, he found her really creepy.

"Hey jerk." On cue, Mai's flat, monotone voice brought him out of his thoughts. "You're blocking my way." She was unremarkable despite her sleek black hair in buns and gorgeous amber eyes but that was due to the fact that her face was often blank and cold, as if she just didn't have any emotions at all. "Are you deaf or something?" she demanded, with an annoyed edge in her voice. He moved over her let her pass.

_"_Why is she so creepy?" he accidentally thought out loud.

"Excuse me?" she turned and grabbed him by the collar. "You don't know anything about me!" For once, she was showing an emotion: rage. "Shut up and stop talking about people you don't know." She let him go and got to her seat before the teacher arrived.

"Geez." Sokka muttered, rubbing his neck.

"Are you alright?" a quiet voice asked. It was the shy girl from the back classroom. She had a sweet face and long, pale blond hair that stood out in a school full of brunettes. "I'm Yue. I hope she wasn't too rough with you."

Sokka smiled "Actually, I'm fine. My name's Sokka, nice to meet you." He held out his hand and she took it. "How come I've never noticed you before; especially with that hair of yours?"

Yue frowned. "What's wrong with my hair?"

Sokka groaned "Nothing, it's beautiful. It's weird but, no that's not what I mean. What I mean is-I not got good at talking to really pretty girls."

When the teacher walked in, Yue's little, pink mouth curved upwards. She leaned closer to him "That's okay." she whispered. "I don't mind."

)-()-()-()-(

In the cafeteria, Suki found that she had no appetite. She wasn't sure why, but she had only eaten half her pizza before she was full. Her new friends, a group of teen actresses that were also from Kyoshi calling themselves "The Kyoshi Worriors", chattered about a new play they were planning to perform in a theatre in Ba Sing Se, and were insisting she play a part.

"C'mon," one girl, begged "We have extra costume."

"Yeah, you'd love it."

"Please perform with us."

"Alright," Suki chuckled "I'll perform with you. Hold on, I'll be right back." She got up to throw away her lunch.

"You're done eating already?" the first girl asked.

"Guess I'm just not hungry today." Suki shrugged. She walked across the cafeteria, near to where Sokka and his friends sat, and tossed the reminder of her lunch in the trash.

"I'm in love." she heard Sokka say. Suki froze. She didn't like eavesdropping but… "She's beautiful, and smart, and totally amazing." Suki felt her face get warmer. _'Is that why he apologized so quickly?' _She wondered. She quickly walked back to her table, still red-faced.

"Whoa, what's up with you?" one of her friends asked.

"Nothing." But it was clear that something was up.

)-()-()-()-(

Katara was glad that her first two days at school had gone on without much trouble and two new friends. Sokka was yapped on about some girl named Yue in one of his classes when he suddenly stopped as if he just remembered something important.

"Hey baby sister, I just remembered, Dad's gonna come late tonight. He's gotta go to some meeting with city council. I'm gonna ask Yue if she wants to that new Coffee house on King St, The Jasmine Dragon. Do you think you can take the subway alone?"

"How do you know she'll say yes?" Toph teased.

"None of your business." He shot back before turning back to his sister. "So you don't mind?"

"Yes, I go mind. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Katara was agitated.

"I forgot!" Sokka tried to defend himself.

"Hey Katara," Aang put in "Why don't you go-"

"NO! NO! NO!" Sokka interrupted "I'm not bringing my baby sister with me on a date."

"-with me to the new arcade. My guardian won't mind." Aang finished.

Katara reached out and flicked her brother in the ear "Sure Aang; that sounds like fun."

)-()-()-()-(

It was still very cool out when school dismissed and Sokka cheered his good luck at scoring a date with the lovely Yue. The ground was littered with the red, orange, and gold leaves that were slowly floating down from the trees. The crisp wind blew through his hair and clothes

"You ready to go?" he asked her.

"Absolutely." She smiled.

He took her hand in his and they began to make their way through Zhong Xing. The Jasmine Dragon was a beautiful, quaint little shop covered with the color red and accented with gold and black. There were many plants outside that softened the bright red. Because red was the favorite color of people from Huo, Sokka began to worry that he had chosen the wrong restaurant. She nudged him and they entered. It was pleasant, almost cute, and richly furnished. Near the main entrance, there was a little lounge area where three girls were chatting. They turned around and Sokka saw that one of them was Mai, who sneered at him before he and Yue continued.

Close behind them, Katara and Aang hid silently behind some tall plants.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Aang asked in a nervous tone.

"Don't worry Aang." Katara reassured "It's not like we're gonna get caught. Sokka's too absorbed in Yue to notice anything."

"You made a good taste in restaurants." Yue smiled as she sipped her latte.

"So what part of the city are you from?" Sokka asked

"I'm from Shui; Tui, more specifically."

"Oh. I'm from La. Still the same district, but kind of far away."

"I know. I'm not sure why the planned the city like that.; it's very inefficient."

"I know right. My grandparents live in Tui and it takes forever to get to their house. The traffic doesn't help."

"Drivers in Yuansu City really are the worst." Yue nodded in agreement. "A lot of bad things happen to people when they travel."

"It's like Fate is saying 'Hey you guys stay in one place! I can't keep track of who I'm suppose to mess with.'"

Yue giggled and eat the sandwich she ordered. She changed the subject. "Was that your sister, the girl you said goodbye too earlier?"

"Yeah, she went to the arcade with a friend."

"So, what is she doing here?"

"What?" Sokka craned his neck to see his sister and Aang sharing a cup of coffee. "Yue, I'll right back."

He got up and walked over to their. "Hey, Katara fancy meeting you here. You know, near my date."

"Oh right, you did say you were gonna be here." Katara replied coyly.

"Don't act all innocent, little sister. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing!" Katara insisted "It's not like we're spying on you or anything."

"Katara!"

"We're just looking out for you. And we're really curious."

"I don't need my baby sister checking up on me during my date. Go home. Now."

"Sokka, where's your date going?" Aang asked.

"Is that her? Who's that guy she's leaving with?" Katara asked.

Sokka turned around to see Yue leaving the coffee shop with a young man he had never seen before. He took a sighed deeply and said in a hard voice, "Katara, get your things. We're going home." She didn't argue, knowing it wasn't the time

"Bye Aang, I'll see you at school tomorrow." Katara said softly.

"Later guys." He responded.

"Maybe we could meet in your district tomorrow." She offered.

"Let's GO!" Sokka cut in.

)-()-()-()-(

Little did they know, someone couldn't help but over hear their conversation. Azula liked information, good or bad, because she had a thing for using it to her advantage. Something the dark-haired bothered her. Perhaps that's why she wrote their names on her hand.

'"_What do you think she meant by "your district"?' _Azula thought_ 'Could she be seeing someone that's from a different district?_' The thought revolted her. Not just that those two low lives from different districts were dating, but that they might be the first. How long would it be before someone from Huo…? The idea was too absurd for her to finish the sentence.

"Azula, we need to go home and practice our routine." Ty Lee interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes, of course. Mai, do you want to come?"

"No thanks I've gotta go home. My nanny freaks out when I'm out too late." Mai slung her black shoulder bag around her torso and got up to leave. "Besides, I think my chauffer's here. See ya." She walked out of the restaurants after sneaking a peek at Zuko, who was approaching his sister.

"What are doing here?" Zuko said hotly.

"What do you mean Zu-zu? The owner's my uncle too." She replied calmly.

"Shouldn't you be at home being a perfect little princess kissing dad's feet?"

Azula kept her temper in. "Shouldn't you be making a fool of yourself in front of him." She countered innocently. He growled and stormed off. "Where are you going Zu-zu?"

"As far away from you as possible!"

Ty Lee shook her head. "You brother gets mad at everything, doesn't he?"

Azula didn't respond. She too busy thinking of ways to get into her dad's records.


	3. The Lost Girls

Azula always had a way of getting what she wanted. As a smooth talker with a pretty face, she could charm her way in and out of any situation. And when it came to her father, being the favorite child certainly worked in her favor.

She waltzed up to the door of his office just as she knew he would leave for another city council meeting. Two meetings in a row meant something important would be on her father's mind; more important that keeping his kids out of his office. Her father, Ozai, was an intimidating man- tall, demanding, and something terrifying- but Azula had no fear of him, only blind loyalty.

"Where are you going, Azula?"

"I've just forgotten something in there from the last time you called me."

Ozai narrowed his eyes "You_ forgot_ something, and you _just now_ remembering to get it. Straighten up, lady, unless you want to be a failure like Zuko."

Azula managed to keep her untroubled exterior, but on the inside, she winced. Her father's criticism always cut her deeply, but being compared her loser older brother was almost unbearable. "Yes, father." Her voice lost its confidence. After all, it was just a conditioned response to please her father. She looked on silently as he gathered his things and left.

As he began to walk down the hall, he warned her "Be quick, finish your homework, and keep your brother out of trouble."

"Yes, father."

When Azula was sure she had heard his car pull out of the driveway, she went in silently and got on his computer, looking for through her school's file for anyone with the names she had written down earlier. It took her a while, but she kept seaching until she found four "Katara"s but she only looked at the one whose picture matched the face she saw in the coffee shop.

Katara Yang

Age: 14

District: Shui

Neighborhood: La

Azula read her profile thoroughly and took out a piece of paper and a high resolution camera. She jotted down Katara's information and took a picture of the picture of the screen so she wouldn't leave behind any clues. She didn't want to risk her father finding out want she was doing. She resumed sifting through the school's files until she came upon the boy, Aang.

Aang Avatar

Age: 14

District: Kongqi

Neighborhood: Namjjog

She paused and took a deep breathe. Technically, they hadn't done anything wrong; she'd just seen them having a cup of coffee like so many other people. And The Jasmine Dragon was built on neutral ground. How could she do anything with the little information she had?

Then a wicked thought came to her and slowly, a nasty plot came to mind. She prepared to leave thinking_ 'That'll show them what happens whe-'_

"What are you doing in there?" her furious brother shouted from the doorway.

"Relax, Zu-zu, I have permission to be in here." She replied calmly.

Zuko glared at her doubtfully, "Dad never lets anyone into his office unless her calls them first. Why would he let you in while he's out?"

"Because, Daddy loves and trusts me." The silent "and not you, because you're a disappointment and a loser" could be heard very clearly in her voice.

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

"Do you really think I'm that evil?" Zuko didn't answer. "Always so supisious, Zu-zu. Take a breck sometime. Maybe then people wouldn't be embarrased to be seen with you."

"You know what..."

"What?" Azula interrupted. She walked up to him and glared directly into his face. He was much taller that her, but she was clearly the more dangerous of the two. "Honest, I'm hurt that you don't seem to trust me at all." She sneered in false hurt.

"Because you don't deserve it. I know you're hiding something."

"Maybe, but if you're wrong, you just make me look like the better child. Good night, Zu-zu." She walked past him and into her own bedroom.

)-()-()-()-(

While Katara looked around for Aang after school ended, three girls she recognized from the coffee shop came up to her.

"Excuse me," one girl said to Katara. "Are you Katara Yang?"

"You see, my name's Mai, and I have a favor to ask you. My friends, Azula and Ty Lee," she gestured to the two girls behind her "and I planned to join the cheerleading team. But I need a partner to try out."

"Okay, but why are you asking me?"

"I have class with your brother and he told me you used to take dance and gymnastics lessons. I figured you must have been really good."

Katara smiled at the compliment. "I was; thanks. But I haven't done anything like that in a long time."

"Well I think you'll be fine. I really need a partner."

Katara thought for a moment. "Okay, I'll do it."

All three girls smiled. Ty Lee step up and hugged "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to us."

"Yes," Azula continued "Meet us in the gym afternoon tomorrow so we can practice our routine."

"Hey, Katara." She heard Aang calling her from a few yards behind her.

"I gotta go." She said.

"That's alright." Mei replied, "Just remember, tomorrow, after school, in the gym."

"I won't forget." She called from over her shoulder as she ran to meet Aang. "Hey, Aang guess what?"

"What's going on Katara?"

"I'm gonna be a cheerleader." She beamed as they walked to the subway station.

"Wow, a cheerleader? When did you decide to try out?" he inquired.

"Just now." She admitted "Some girl need a partner to try out and I agreed to be her partner."

"That's really nice of you." Aang remarked. "Do you know anything about cheerleading?"

"Well no, but I took some dance and gymnastics classes when I was younger. I think that'll at least get me on the squad."

"Hey, why wasn't Sokka in school today?"

"He said he wasn't well, so dad let him stay home."

"Do you think it has anything to do with Yue?"

Katara tightened her hold on the straps of her messenger bag. "I _know_ it does. I mean, what kind of girl goes on a date with one guy and leaves with another? I'll tell you what kind: a _slut_."

Aang was uncomfortable with that statement; it was the first time he'd ever heard her say anything really bad about someone. "I don't know Katara, maybe we're blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Maybe she was leaving with her brother, or cousin."

"No Aang, she was hiding something. Why didn't she come up to us and say she was leave? She ditched my brother for another guy! I know I'd never do that to a guy."

_'Is it wrong that I'm glad she said that?'_ Aang thought to himself.

)-()-()-()-(

Toph was the kind of girl who loved rebelling against her parents; the angrier she could make them, the more satisfaction it brought her. It was wrong to wory them, she knew, but it was just too amusing. She was supposes to be home a half hour ago, but here she was, still wandering the streets of Ba Sing Se, really far from home. She had ditched her chauffer after school and took the subway to Diqui for the first time. But instead of going to Gaoling, she went north to Ba Sing Se to explore. She came to a large theatre with where the door was unlocked, so she decided to sneak in.

Up on stage, a group of girls 'fighting' rehearsed for the play. Their movements were graceful and deadly-looking. They were using paper fans as weapons against some monster call 'The Unogi'. Not that Toph could see them. She just went along with what she heard. It sounded very life-like until someone called "Hey, what are you doing here? This is not a public rehearsal!"

"I'm lost." Toph admitted. True, she had never been to this part of the city and she was blind, but she as much as she hated seeming helpless, it was true that she need some help.

The girl who had spoken, sighed "Alright girls, rehearsal over. We'll get here earlier tomorrow to make up for lost time."

"NO!" Toph interrupted. "You can finish your rehearsal. I'll just leave."

"Didn't you just say you were lost? Wait you're Sokka's blind friend, aren't you?"

Toph gritted her teeth. "Yes, I'm Sokka's friend." She replied, purposefully leaving out the word blind.

"I think you should leave. Don't worry I'll take you home."

"I don't need you taking care of me!" Toph replied defiantly.

"Yes, you do. I just want to help." Suki argued.

Toph figured she wasn't gonna get anywhere, so she just allowed Suki to take her home. The two hopped on a nearby subway and sat in silence.

"Hey," Suki began awkwardly "Do you know why Sokka wasn't in school today?"

"Why do you care?" Toph asked suspiciously.

"No reason, just curious." Suki quickly looked away.

"His sister said he was sick, but I think it's because this girl broke his heart."

"What girl?" Suki asked shock. _'So, he's not in love with me'_. The thought hurt her more than she thought it would.

"Some girl named Yue. He went on a date with her and she ditched him for another guy." Toph answered.

"Oh really." Suki felt a bit bad for being so happy._ 'That means I still have a chance.'_

)-()-()-()-(

Ozai was beyond angry; he was downright pissed. For as long as he'd known, people have been separated. It simply didn't make sense that for the people of Huo to be forced to mix with the inferior people of the rest of the city.

He glared at everyone at the meeting. Each city council member represented a different neighborhood of the city. Ozai was the councilman for the neighborhood of Aka; other councilmen from Huo was Piandao, from Buru, a friend of his brother.

Arnook, the councilman of Tui, and Bumi, the councilman of Omashu, and proposed to revoke the bill the old bill that put people in separate districts based on where their parents lived; the same bill that his grandfather Sozin had proposed a hundred years ago.

He wasn't gonna stand for it.

When he arrived home, distraught, and walked in the large living room to find Zuko still awake, reading a book on the plush white sofa.

"You do know that Azula was in your office, right." Zuko said flatly.

"I'm aware of that." he replied coldly. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"It's Friday."

"They why aren't out parting with your low-life friends." Ozai asked sarcastically "You do have friends don't you?"

"It's none of your business."

Ozai's face twisted with anger. "You have no respect for anyone do you?" he sneered.

"Why should I?" Zuko snapped hotly.

Within a moment, Zuko was on the ground, his cheek stinging. "Maybe that should teach you some respect." Ozai taunted, walking right past his son and down the hallway.

_'I hate him so much.'_ Zuko seethed quietly as he got up.

)-()-()-()-(

Toph was mentally preparing herself for a huge punishment and lecture on safety. She walked up to the gates of the Bei Fong Estates. She slowly walked down the familiar cobblestone path that led to the huge Bei Fong mansion. It was the largest building in the quarter-mile area, made of brown stones and full of the most expensive toys and electronics, all bought to keep her happy and distracted.

She scowled as she thought about her parents; it's not that she didn't love her parents. But she didn't love how she was treated as if she was made of glass.

"Ms. Bei Fong! Ms. Bei Fong!" her nanny, Joo-Dee, ran up to her and threw her arms around her small body. "Oh, Ms. Bei Fong, we were all so worried. Come, your parents are terrified for your safety."

Toph allowed herself to be dragged into her parent's grand room. Her mother was pale and pacing around the room; he father sat stiff and anxious. Toph sat down across her parents, silent.

"Toph," her father Lao sighed, "What on earth happened to you? We were deathly worried!"

"I was…a girl from school." Not a technically lie. She was with Suki, a girl from school.

"THIS LATE AT NIGHT!" her mother, Poppy, cried out. "I thought I'd lost you forever."

"Joo-Dee, what time is it?" asked Toph.

"It is seven-thirty, Ms. Bei Fong." She answered robotically.

"That's not too late, is it? And I was never in danger." Toph argued.

"What is someone wanted to kidnap you? You never would have seen it coming!" Lao countered "I fear that perhaps this you shouldn't continue attending Issho Academy; those children must be a bad influence on you. Perhaps you need a private tutor."

At that moment, Toph felt that as if she had been punched in the gut _and _shot in a heart at the same time. If she were homeschooled, she'd lose all her friends, the only friends she'd ever had.

"You can't do that! You're on the counsil; that means I have to go!"

"You can get a pardon, dear." Poppy suggested.

"But…I'll lose my friends." Toph pleaded her voice breaking.

"Maybe that's what's you need. We can find you know friends, friends who understand you're special needs" Lao concluded.

"You can't do that! You can't buy me friends and I don't have special needs. I don't even want to be special. Please! Don't! I love it there! I'll do anything to stay at Issho!"

"Toph! Please." Poppy interrupted "You're being too dramatic."

"If you remove me from Issho, I'll run away and you'll never see me again!" she threatened.

The Bei Fong grand room became silent and cold. Toph's angry declaration shook her parents and nanny to the core.

"You don't mean that, do you?" Poppy asked.

"Toph, be serious." Lao warned.

"I am." Toph responded standing up. "Mom, Dad, I love you. And I'll try not to worry you anymore. But I won't stand for the way you're treating me."

"You mean like a princess?" Lao demanded "We gave you fancy clothes, and nice house, the latest gadgets and toys, and everything you ever wanted!"

"No, you gave me stuff you thought I wanted. All I wanted was to be treated like a normal kid; to hang out with friends without you going crazy or have a little more freedom to make some decision of my own. Please, don't keep treating me as if I'm some helpless baby. "

Toph run the wide, spiral stairways and began to climb to her bedroom, leaving her family stunned. She slammed open the door, and hopped into bed with tears streaming from her eyes.

_'My parents suck so much.'_ she sobbed to herself.


	4. Friends

To say the next morning was awkward for Toph and her family would be a major understatement. Her parents seemed like they were too embarrassed to look at her and Toph was surprisingly quiet. They sat in the dining room, Toph on one end of the huge table and her parents on the other, looking directly at her. For a long tome, niegther of them could think of something to say to her. Finally, her mother tried to make conversation.

"So," Poppy Bei Fong began shyly "Are you going to have the driver take you to school or are you going on the…subway?" It bothered her to no end, the idea that the daughter of the noble Bei Fong family wanted to ride in that filthy contraction full of strange...strangers.

"Subway." Toph replied.

"Alone?" asked Joo-Dee "Are you sure that's a good…" Lao silenced her with a look. He wasn't keen on allowing his daughter more freedom, but he was afraid of her threat to leave. She had already proven that she was willing to defy his authority and he had no idea how far she was willing to go.

"No. I talked to a friend of mine last night. She's taking me on the subway with her." Toph sat quietly for a few more minutes, scraping her fork back and forth across her empty plate.

Lao and Poppy were not sure how to continue the conversation. It suddenly occurred to Poppy how little time she actually spent with her daughter.

"Toph." She began again. "Maybe we could do something together; just us girls."

"Like what?" Toph was confused. She couldn't remember a time when she'd spent any "girl time" with her mother. In fact, she couldn't even think of a time when she interacted with either of her parents that wasn't painful. Ever since she was a baby, she had been handed from nanny to nanny, Joo-Dee being the most recent; nearly all of them quit within three years.

"Uh…"_ 'C'mon Poppy, think of something.'_ "Maybe, get our nails done."

"I bite my nails." Toph almost snickered at her mother's pathetic attempt to be a mom. Almost. It was too sad to laugh at.

"Really?" Joo-Dee asked surprised. She floated over to where Toph sat at the breakfast table and took her hand. "Ms. Bei Fong, what a nasty habit. When did you pick it up?"

"Err, that's enough Joo-Dee. You're dismissed." Lao coughed. "Toph, perhaps you should be getting to the..." he cringed mentally "subway station."

Toph got up and put her plate in the sink. "Bye." She said dully as she walked through the front door.

Suki was already at the large metal gate of the Bei Fong estate with her arms crossed, annoyed and slightly angry, arguing with one of the guards.

"Look here." She warned "I'm a friend of Toph Bei Fong and I dema…"

"And I'm a guard of the Bei Fong family. Lots of people come here claiming to know them. Unless you can show some proof, I suggest you gone on your merry way." The guard interrupted mockingly.

"Chill out." Toph's voice came from behind the guard. She walked up to gate, which opened automatically when she held up a pass stating she was the owner's daughter and stood right next to Suki. "Next time, call me if anyone claims to know me. I don't want you kicking out any of my friends."

"Yes, Ms. Bei Fong." The guard responded obediently.

"C'mon Suki. Let's go." Suki led her through the posh suburban neighborhood of Gaoling-but not before sticking her tongue out at that guard- down into the vast subway system. They entered the subway car and took their seats.

"I really appreciate this, you know. I normally don't like being helped but, the way you do it-it's different. Good different." Toph smiled at her new friend.

"Oh really? I'm just doing a friend a favor." Suki smiled back.

"But to me, it's not just a favor; it's someone helping me be like everyone else. No matter what the movies say, being rich usually sucks. Especially if you're blind. People pity you but they never really care about you."

"Being normal isn't much better. When you're rich, you don't have to worry about bills or expenses, or paying for college or getting in debt or-"

"Actually," Toph interrupted "I've seen plenty of rich people get into debt because they don't know how to stop spending money. They're the worst 'cause they think the whole world is out to make them miserable when they're the ones ruining their own lives."

"Well yes, but, you get live in a big fancy house with lots of servants and maids and butlers. You don't even have to do anything for yourself because you _always_ have someone to take care of you."

"**That the problem!**" Toph cried out. The other passengers stared at her and Suki for a minute, and then turned back to whatever they were doing.

"What's the problem, Toph?" Suki inquired softly.

"Everyone takes care of you." She answered in a quieter tone "But they take care of you too much. They choose what you wear; what you eat; when get up and go to bad; who you can hang out with. Sometimes I feel like a puppet on a string." Toph was beginning to cry. A few streaks of tears ran down her cheeks and chin. Suki reached into her oversized grey bag and pulled out a white handkerchief.

As she wiped away Toph's tears, Suki consoled her "Its way early to be crying like that. I take it that that's why you didn't want me to help you last night?"

"You hit the nail on the head, honey. I hate getting hep because I** hate** feeling helpless."

"I doubt anyone likes feeling like that, but it's okay to ask for help sometimes."

"I'm glad you were there for me, Suki. I probably would have gotten myself even more lost than I already was." Both girls laughed.

At the end of their subway ride, the two walked up to the gleaming exterior of Issho. "It's Monday again." Toph observed. "One week down, a whole lot more to go."

Suki giggled. "We're twenty minutes early. Do you want a quick cup of coffee before school starts? There's a coffee shop right there." She suggested, pointed to the nearby Jasmine Dragon. Toph shrugged and followed her.

The Jasmine Dragon was quickly becoming a popular hangout for the students of Issho due to its proximity and the high quality of coffee, tea, and snacks. It still wasn't very crowded though, because of how early it was; the main crowd flooded in during the afternoon after a long day of school.

The girls both ordered espressos while waiting for school to begin. Suki looked around and saw Katara enter with three girls she had never seen before. _'Wonder who they are.'_ She thought. "Hey Toph, I see Katara here. Do you want to say hi?"

"I would but…"

"Your coffee's here!" a kind old man announced. He had a bushy, grey and large, round belly.

Suki couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Mr…"

"Call me Iroh. I'm the owner."

"Thank you for the coffee, Iroh."

"You're welcome. But to be honest, my real passion is tea. Of course my niece told me 'No-one drinks tea anymore.' So, I made it coffee instead." Iroh gave a loud, full belly laugh. "You young people can't seem to get enough of it."

"Well isn't that the truth." Toph agreed. "Who's your niece? Do you think we might know her?"

"Probably; she and her brother are students at Issho." He lifted his eyes. "In fact, there she is right now. Do you see the one with her hair done up, with long bangs? Her name is Azula." He was pointing to one of the three girls that were with Katara. "I'd better get back. It was nice specking to you ladies."

"Azula seems like a nice girl." Suki commented.

)-()-()-()-(

Aang was a bit concerned when he went to the subway station and found only Sokka. "Where's Katara? Is she sick or something?"

"No, relax. She just left early to meet up some friends of hers. I think it had something to do with cheerleading."

Aang's tension left him. "Oh right, she mentioned it last week. Let's go."

When they reached the school, Aang and Sokka found Suki and Toph waiting for them at the main entranced but Katara was still nowhere in sight.

"Hey, have you guys seen my sister?" Sokka asked.

"Oh yeah," Suki chirped "She with some named Azula and her friends. We saw them earlier at the coffee shop."

"Well, we'll see you girls later." Aang waved.

Before Sokka could enter the building, Suki grabbed his arm. "Hey Sokka," she began.

"What it is Suki?"

Up until now, Suki never noticed how handsome he looked; she tried her hardest not to get lost in his gem-like blue eyes. "I was hoping you'd come to my play Friday night."

"Why do you want me to come?"

"I mean, I want all of you to come!" Suki covered up quickly.

"Sounds like fun." Aang remarked before hurrying off to class.

"Yeah, see you later!" Sokka added.

)-()-()-()-(

Katara tried to keep her long braid from flapping around in the strong fall wind, but her attempts were futile. "Here," Ty Lee offered "let me help." She stepped behind Katara and wrapped the braid into a bun with several bobby pins.

"Wow, thank you, Ty Lee." Katara praised.

"No biggie; that's what friends are for." She grinned. Ty Lee did a cartwheel followed by a back flip that landed her in front of the steps to Issho "We better get a move on; the bell's gonna ring any second now."

"Katara, I almost forgot to give you this." Azula handed her a little yellow slip with her name on it and a picture of a pair of pom-poms. "You'll need it to get out of third period for try-outs."

"In the middle of the day?" Katara asked.

Mai responded "Yeah, some raider group sent a threat against the school to the principle; so he's not letting anyone stay afterschool today."

"Wow that's horrible." Katara said. "I'm terrified of the raiders."

"Really," Azula replied as she and the others began to part with Katara. "I'm not surprised; they are truly frightening. We'll see later."

Katara was feeling sick to her stomach and lightheaded. She never wanted to think about the raiders, not after they killed her mother. She didn't speak about it to anyone from fear that she would re-live the pain of losing her mom.

She stumbled up the stair and staggered into the classroom. Upon seeing her pale face and stiff manner, two girls, Song and Jin, came up to her. "What is wrong, Katara." Song asked.

"Nothing; I don't want to talk about it." She replied.

"Are you sure?" Jin asked unconvinced as She and Song helped Katara into her desk. When she sat down, she took a deep breath and thanked them. "Really guys, I'm fine." She insisted weakly.

By the she had to go to the gym for cheer try out, Katara was had managed to calm down enough to not look like she was bother by news about the raiders. She walked onto the polished wooden floors of the huge building on the west side of school. Like the cafeteria, it had tall ceilings and large, bright windows, but unlike the cafeteria, which was always cold, the gym was fairly warm; the stark white walls made the large room seemed even bigger. All the girls stood in a line wearing white t-shirts, purple shorts, and white sneakers. Katara spotted Azula and Ty Lee stretching while Mai was tying her shoelaces.

The coach, Yin, was a dark-haired woman with an easy smile. She called the girls over to her can began handing out little white slips of paper. "Get together with your partners." She chirped out. Mai got up and took one piece of paper and showed it to Katara.

"Lucky us; we're number 1." She smirked sarcastically.

"Oh, joy." Katara groaned.

"Number 7!" Ty Lee smiled. "I think there are like, 14 teams here, so that's puts us right in the middle."

"Team One, on the floor. Everyone else sit in the bleachers." Coach Ying called.

Katara and Mai stood back-to-back in the center of the gym as a bouncy pop song blasted through the radio speakers. The moved away from each other and did a series of cartwheels and flips around the gym floor. They danced in time to the music for another minute before performing a double back flip and spilt.

At the end of the routine, the two girls climbed into the bleachers next to Azula and Ty Lee.

"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Mai said as they walked up the bleachers.

"Performing in front of people?" Katara asked.

"No, listening to that whole song." Mai smirked. Katara liked that song, but she giggled anyway.

Before they realized it, Azula and Ty Lee were on the gym floor dancing and flipping like pros. With each team that tried out, Katara couldn't help but feel a little more nervous.

"Relax, Katara," Mai smirked "We did fine." Katara smiled nervously in response.

As the last team left the center of the gym, Coach Ying analyzed each girl as if she already knew who would or wouldn't make the squad. Still she smiled and said, "You all did a wonderful job here. Even if you didn't make the cheer squad you should be proud of what you've done here. Good luck girls."

The 28 cheer squad hopefuls hit the showers, changed into their uniforms, and went to the cafeteria. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee began to walk to their table when they noticed Katara walking a different direction.

"Shouldn't we invite her to eat lunch with us?" Ty Lee suggested.

"Uh, Ty Lee," Mai commented "Don't tell me you actually want to her friend? She's from Shui."

"Wait, then why have we been hanging out with her? Besides, she seems really sweet."

"Ty Lee," Azula shook her head "Let's just say, there are things you don't understand just yet." Then her tone became as cold and hard as the cafeteria itself. "You know that you should never consider the Shui kids as equals; they are beneath us."

The girls sat down at their table. "I don't understand. If they are inferior to us, why bother hanging out with Katara?"

Azula smirked "We'll need to use her to prove a point. It's not like she's actually worth our time."

"I just can't wait to get back at her idiot brother" Mai smirked.


	5. Blood Spilled

Without exaggerating, the past two weeks have been the best of Aang's life. True, most of his life had been pretty fun and interesting, but today he was going to do what he thought was the high school equivalent of Russian roulette: asking out Katara. While it was clear to a few that he was completely smitten with her-something Toph teased him about behind her back-Katara's feelings were still unknown; no-one could be sure if she thought of him a just a friend, or something more.

Either way, Aang was going to take that chance. He saw her placing books in her locker before lunch and walked up to her. For a moment, it felt like no-one else was present; he could only see Katara.

"Hey." He began.

"Oh, hi Aang." She responded cheerful "What's up?"

"I kinda wanted to ask you something."

"Asked away." She encouraged, closing her locker.

"I know you're going to Suki's play tomorrow night and I was wondering…do you want to go with me, as a date?"

Katara, caught off guard, was stunned. She never had any idea Aang might _like her_ like her.

Nonetheless, she was flattered. Few boys had ever asked her out, and most of them were jerks. For an instant, she was positive this was the way to go. "Sure Aang, that sounds like fun." She chirped. "I'll meet you outside the theater at seven. Let's get to the cafeteria before the line gets too long."

"Sure." Aang's nervousness melted away and he seemed happier than normal.

_'He must really like me.'_ She blushed as they entered the bright, cold room. After getting their lunch and sitting down. She questioned him "So you like me?"

"Of course," he answered "What's not to like?"

"Okay, but for how long?"

"Honestly?"

"Honesty."

"From the first time we met." Aang confessed shyly.

"Wow, this whole time and I never noticed." Katara bit her lip in embarrassment but she was oddly happy.

"Never noticed what?" Toph asked from behind.

"Did you that Aang..._liked_ me?"

"Everyone knew Aang had a crush on you, Sugar Queen!" Toph laughed "And you guys say_ I'm_ blind."

Katara, blushing, changed the subject "How are things with your parents going?"

"Better, but not good. Now they freak out whenever I do stuff. But at least they're not pampering me anymore."

"Why'd they loosen up so quickly?" Aang asked.

"I kinda, threatened to...run away."

No one spoke for a minute.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Katara cried "Toph, that is so not cool."

"Why not? It worked. And I don't plan on actually running away...yet." Toph defended.

"They must be freaking out inside." Katara argued "You're their only kid, so it makes sense they don't want to lose you."

"They will if they keep treating me like a baby." Toph hissed.

"Go easy on them Toph; they just want what's best for them. Talk to them and maybe you'll figure something out."

"Family troubles?" Sokka appeared. "Sorry, I'm late, but I ran into Yue in the halls."

"Oh yeah, Yue," Katara grumbled. "The girl who broke your heart has once again entered the conversation."

"Well actually," Sokka began "I talked to her about last week. She said that it was her…boyfriend… that she left with…"

"Boyfriend?" Aang interrupted "So she really did go out with you while she still dating someone else?"

"Hold on, let me finish." Sokka continued "She doesn't even like him; she's just doing to please her dad."

Katara, Aang, and Toph paused for a second, reassessing how they saw Yue."I still think she's a skank; only now, she's a cowardly skank. She can break up with him, can't she?" Toph reasoned blunted.

"I dunno what to think of her anymore, but Toph's right about one thing: you've gotta convince her to break up with her boyfriend if you want to date her." Aang sighed "But what if this guy genuinely likes her too? Then what?"

"Find another girl, Snoozles." Toph replied coolly as she got up to throw her lunch away.

"Where are going?" Aang asked.

"To get some fresh air, Twinkle Toes." Toph drawled as she left "The drama in here is suffocating me."

"Don't listen to her Sokka. Maybe you should talk things out with her. Maybe the other guy doesn't like her." Aang offered. "Right Katara?"

"I dunno, Aang. She did hurt him pretty badly." Katara replied "What do you think Sokka?"

"I think…I'm in love with her. And…I want to forgive her."

Katara reached out and touched his shoulder "If you really love, I'm behind you 100%."

)-()-()-()-(

Hakoda walked out the conference room with a worried look and a throbbing headache. The lasted bill proposed would completely eliminate century old social barriers, but if Councilman Ozai's reaction said anything, it hinted violent retaliation from the people of Huo. They were proud, almost to the point of arrogance, and made no secret of their opinion of others in the city.

_'They act as if they own this place.'_ He grumbled in his mind.

Despite the bill being officially passed weeks ago, the two councilmen from Huo had called numerous meeting to revoke it and they had the people's support. There had been a protest in Huo and minor uprisings in Diqui for the last few hours and they showed no signs of slowing down. They had even been a report of two teenage boys from Buru going into La and attacking an old woman.

As councilman of La, he would have to speak with the councilman of Aka, an aggressive man with a bad temper, about the incident to decide the punishment. The problem was that said councilman, Ozai, refused to believe those boys had done anything wrong. The meeting had been, more or less, a disaster in which nothing had really been accomplished.

He pulled into the dimly lit driveway of his two story home, rare in this part of the city, and sat in his car for a few minutes. If they had already attacked in La…He couldn't help but worry about his two children. Finally, he got out of his car and walk through the front door. His daughter Katara was lying on the couch in her pajamas, surrounded by textbooks and paper.

He walked up behind her and asked, "Whatcha doing kiddo?"

Her head popped up as if she had suddenly woken from sleep. "Dad!" she complained "You scared me!"

"Sorry, honey. What are you working on?"

"Just studying for a test I have."

"That's my girl." He said leaning in to kiss her forehead. "You're so smart, just like you're mom." It had rare for him to mention his deceased wife, but the older Katara got, the more she resembled her mother. "Where's your brother?"

"Where do you think? He's in the kitchen." She replied smugly.

"I heard that!" Sokka shouted from the back of the house.

"It's late and you should go to bed. Don't want to fall asleep in the middle of that test, do you?" he laughed.

"Sure dad." She got up and began to put away her belongings before climbing up the stairs to her bedroom. "Good night."

Katara opened the door to her small bathroom and brushed her teeth before entering her bedroom. It was as neat as everything else she kept. The walls were covered with framed pictures of family and friends and the wood furniture was dustless and tucked along the walls of the room, excluded the section that housed her closet. Her cast iron bed, the largest thing in the room, was covered in blue sheets and purple pillows.

Her bare feet made no noise on the large blue shag rug that sat upon the wooded floors as she shuffled into bed. She had left the table lamp on and it was becoming unbearable hot near her bed. She switched it off but didn't fall asleep right away. She laid her knees on her pillows, looking outside the cold window above her bed. When she sighed, the mist of her breathe clung to the window pane and slowly disappeared.

Before that day, she thought of Aang as a close friend, a_ best_ friend actually. Tonight, her stomach was fluttering like the wings of a butterfly. Was she falling in love just because he had, or finally becoming aware of feelings that were always there? She had become extremely fond of him very quickly._ 'Why is love so confusing?'_ she thought as she climbed under the sheets. _'I'm sure you'd know what to do mom.'_

)-()-()-()-(

Jin and Song, two of the closest friends in Diqui, sat in a little café on the northern end Ba Sing Se before school started. Since freshman year, the two often went there early in the morning to chat and review homework, but that morning would be…different. Song was sipping her coffee and looking over some material for a test she had that afternoon while Jin was talking about a cute boy she had seen in the hallways. They had been in the café for quite a while when Jin looked up at the clock.

"We better go; the first subway leaves in ten minutes." She said grabbing her bag.

"Okay." Song replied, sipping the last of her cappuccino. "Are those new earrings?"

"Yeah," Jin replied "My cousin sent them to me to say sorry for missing my birthday last month."

"They're really nice." They were studs, little green rhinestones laid in gold.

"Thanks."

The girls walked out into the crisp fall air and walked over to the subway station. But when they made it underground, five men in police uniforms came up to them.

"Is there a problem?" Song asked.

"Yes, ma'am there is. We'll need you to come downtown with us."

Shocked, Jin asked, "What's the matter? What happened?"

Without responding, the five men moved in on the frightened girls. One roughly grabbed hold of Jin's upper arm and pulled her toward him. Panicked, they squirmed and screamed. All the other people in the station looked oblivious; if not, they tried to. All but one girl.

This girl was tall and slim, tan with platinum blond hair, almost white, and sweet blue eyes. She ran up to them in her expensive white boots and confronted the police officers. She stood with her shoulders straight and her lips quivering. She tried to be brave but inside she was shaking.

"Excuse me."

"This is none of your business girl!" a second officer growled harshly.

Yue was taught to deal with people that where much larger than her: talk it out. She took a deep breath and began "I don't see why these girls should be taken into custody; I don't think they've done nothing wrong."

"She's right; we're innocent." Song pleaded.

"Quiet you!" the first officer commanded. "Since you seem to now so much, you're coming with us." All three girls were grabbed and escorted upstairs. They were crammed into the backseat a black car while another black car followed them.

Song and Jin huddled close in the backseat crying and shaking while Yue, stunned, was trapped in her own thoughts. She was terribly shaken, but hopeful that her father's connections could get her out of trouble.

"We're so sorry we got you into this." Jin whispered to Yue.

She gave a little smile and responded "It's okay; they have to find us innocent of whatever they're accusing us for."

The girls rode on for an agonizing hour until they saw a sigh announcing that they were in Huo. Song peeked out the window nervously, "What are we doing here?"

"Do you ever **SHUT UP**?" the driving officer roared as he veered left. The girls had been unable to use seatbelts and were practically tossed into the window. The cars entered an old abandoned apartment building that was covered in mold and graffiti. The three helpless girls were roughly torn from car and forced up to the building.

"I want to call my father." Yue demanded. "Don't I get one phone call?"

"No, you don't." the first officer chuckled darkly. In that minute, Yue realized that they weren't dealing with real police officers. Adrenaline pumped into her veils and she felt her muscle tighten for action.

Song seemed to be reading Yue's mind. "You're not cops are you?"She asked.

Instead of answering them, the "officers" took out rope and duct tape and grabbed them once again. This time, the girls punched and kicked and tried to run. Song and Yue were not very strong and were easily overpowered. They were blindfolded before they were forced into the cold filthy building.

Jin, however, made it into an alleyway before one man jumped on top of her, smashing her face into a puddle on the asphalt. She felt crushing pain in her cheek and jaw and when he pulled her off the ground, she felt the water and blood dripping on her skin and clothes. The man that had caught her tossed Jin into the arms of the man that had driven her there. He led her through the hazardous building put her in a basement room with Song and Yue.

It was a terribly cold room with bare walls, stone floors and no furniture. Mildew and mold discolored the walls and ceiling, lit by two naked light bulbs hanging down over them. The men stripped them down to their underwear. One of the kidnappers proposed an idea that the girls couldn't hear quite clearly.

That man went upstairs and seemed to return with something. He and another man moved in on Yue; while one of them grabbed her bruised face, the other took a pair of scissors and chopped off her long, beautiful hair. They did the same with Song and Jin before taking pictures of the poor, scared-out-of-their-skin teenagers with their own cell phone cameras.

Jin couldn't talk, on account of her broken jaw, so she nudged the girl next to her-Song. As if knowing what Jin wanted, she shaking asked in a voice as quiet as a mouse. "What do you… what do you what...with us?"

The voice belonging to the driver hissed the answer coldly, "To show the people of Yuansu City the power of Huo."


	6. And It Went Boom

Katara and Sokka stood outside the large Ba Sing Se theatre for a good twenty minutes while the unforgiving wind chilled them to the bone.

"Where are Toph and Aang?" Sokka complained loudly.

"Stop whining. If you hadn't been so worried about being late, we wouldn't have been so early." Katara snapped as her long braid whipped around her head.

"Sorry." He apologized. "It's just this weather sucks."

"Point taken." She agreed, wrapping her soft purple scarf tighter around her neck. She looked around and saw some people enter the theatre. "I hoped nothing happened to them; the play starts in fifteen minutes."

As if on cue, Toph arrived with her parents, all wearing matching clothes: fluffy green jackets, brown slacks and black dress shoes.

"Wow, you guys look cute." Sokka smirked.

"Oh, thank you…um Sokka, is it?" Poppy smiled.

"Yeah, and this is my sister Katara. Our friend Aang should be here…now." Aang jogged over to them from about half a block away.

"Hi Katara, Sokka, Toph, Toph's parents." Aang grinned. He walked over to Katara and took her hand; both of them blushed and moved toward the door. "We'd better get our tickets and go inside."

Sokka turned to his sister and mouthed 'Since when?'. Katara blushed in return.

Unlike what the name would imply, The Great Wall of Ba Sing Se was small, but it was beautiful and famous theatre. The interior was richly furnished with gold-colored furniture and green velvet walls.

"Woo, fancy." Sokka whistled.

"I'll say." Aang agreed.

As they neared the door of the auditorium, two girls were gossiping loudly, not knowing or caring that people in the lobby could hear them.

"I heard from one of my sister's friends that three girls got arrested on the subway this morning." The first girl, wearing brown, yapped.

"O.M.G. What were they doing?" the second girl, in green, gasped.

"I don't know; she was too far away to hear anything. But she recognized one of them, the Councilman of Tui's daughter. I guess she's the rebellious type."

"That's not going to look good for her dad's re-election campaign." The girl in green giggled.

Poppy scoffed in disgust. "I know what girl their taking about; her name is Yue. Good thing you children don't associate with _criminals_ like her."

"Criminal?" Sokka sneered angrily. "You don't know who you're talking about!"

"So you do associate with this girl." Poppy frowned. She was trying to understand her daughter and her friends, but she didn't like what she was hearing.

"Yes we do." Sokka replied with as much indignation "And I know two things, it that Yue is a good kid and I don't want to spend another minute with you people."

He turned to storm out when Katara grabbed his shoulder. "Suki really wanted you to be here." She hissed in his ear "Are you really gonna walk out on her play and disappoint her; for what, your silly temper?" Sokka sighed and turned back to face the Bei Fongs. Ignoring them, he marched into the theatre.

)-()-()-()-(

Toph gritted her teeth together in frustration. Her parents were _**always **_ruining things. First, they forced her to wear some silly outfit that was supposed to match theirs. Then her mom goes and aggravates Sokka, the guy she'd had a huge crush on since she'd met him. How could she not? He was one of the funniest guys in the whole school, and the only one who didn't judge her based on her disability. And unfortunately was almost officially taken by that Yue girl.

Personally, she didn't care much for Yue as anything other than a rival for Sokka's affection. She was older, cooler, and girly-er and if Toph's eyes worked like they should, she would be able to confirm the fear that Yue was prettier than her; normally she didn't care about appearance, but apparently being in love makes you very insecure.

The play she had come to was worse than she'd thought it'd be. She hoped Suki would put on a good show, and she probably was, but she was blind and sitting up in the balcony where her parents insisted on sitting made it difficult to hear anything.

That left her with too much time to worry about what Sokka might think of her now that he knew that her parents were snobs. She was sure he hated her parents, and maybe he wouldn't consider going out with her because of it. '_As if Sokka would ever date me,' _She thought bitterly '_a weird, blind freshman with crazy parents.' _

She sat for the next hour, half-wanting to leave because of Sokka, half wanting to stay for Sokka, trying to ignore a faint beeping sound that was driving her crazy. "Don't you guess hear that?" she whispered to her parents.

"Here what?" Poppy asked.

"That beeping sound; it's driving me crazy." Toph complained.

"Maybe you just need some fresh air. Come outside with me."

Mother and daughter stepped out of the theatre and onto the cold, breezy sidewalk. Poppy looked up at the Ba Sing Se skyline, and sighed. "I'm always so scared for you." She admitted softly. "I wish I could believe nothing would happen to you but…"

Toph stood perfectly still and after a moment responded. "You don't have to go around protecting me from everything. I know you and dad love me and all, but it's getting crazy. I just want to like all the other kids, without bodyguards, or chauffeurs, or nannies."

"Or maids?" Poppy teased lightly.

"No," Toph chuckled "Maids are alright."

"Are you sure you can take care of yourself? A mother can't help but worry." Poppy looked at her daughter for a moment. She looked dainty and helpless, with her pale skin and small stature, but she carried herself like some kind of warrior: fearless and powerful. "You're stronger than we give you credit for."

"You have no idea." Toph agreed.

"Perhaps we can…"

A huge explosion knocks the two off their feet. It resounded through the air million times and shook the whole surrounded area. Poppy jumped up and wrapped her arms around her daughter, never taking her misty eyes off the now burning theatre. Within minutes, she could hear the sirens of fire trucks fill the street. A crowd of people was being evacuating from building, some in tears, all terribly shaken.

"Mom, what's going on? What's happening?" Toph cried.

"Oh sweetie, I wish I knew." Poppy fretted pulling her daughter to the side. _'Could this night get any worse.'_

"Toph! Mrs. Bei Fong!" Katara's voice rang through the crowd. She ran up to them, hand-in-hand with Aang. "There's been a terrorist attack; someone bombed the theatre!"

"Where's my dad?" Toph demanded.

"I'm right here sweetie." Lao emerged from the thick crowd. He ran up to his family and put his arms around them. "Is everyone alright?"

"Hey, you guys are okay?" Sokka appeared next to his sister looking around frantically.

"Has anyone seen Suki?" Toph asked, worried about her friend.

"The bomb was set off near the balconies, so I think she got out in time." Sokka replied. "I'll go look for her." The then ran off in search of Suki and the other actresses.

)-()-()-()-(

Zuko had not been planning on saving any lives that night, but then again, he hadn't been planning on doing anything that night. He had been wandering the city since school had let out that day, not really planning on going home, but no sure what he wanted to do. Whatever it was, he had hoped it had nothing to do with his family.

'Nothing to do with my family.' He thought 'When did I start getting these thoughts?' He knew exactly when he began to think like that: when his mother, Ursa, disappeared. She had been the glue that kept the family from falling apart. That is, before she had vanished.

No-body was sure about the circumstances of her disappearance. While it was common knowledge that she and his father, Ozai, did not have a happy marriage, she was a loyal, faithful woman whose whole life was devoted to her children; it simply was not her nature to simply leave without an explanation. Zuko was the last person to see her, when he was ten years old, as she tucked him into bed and kissed him good-night; the next morning, she was nowhere to be found.

It had been downhill from there. Zuko relationship with his father had completely disintegrated and his rivalry with Azula had turned into full-blown hatred; he was never good enough for either of them. At first, it killed him. He would work his butt off for approval, but on the fifth anniversary of Ursa's disappearance, he finally just stopped caring about anything; his family; his grades; his old friends. The only thing he really cared about was his mother, whether she was dead or alive and what happened to her.

When the bomb had gone off in The Great Wall Ba Sing Se theatre, Zuko felt an odd, intense sensation in his normally apathetic soul. He immediately sprang into action, racing toward the demolished building. He looked at the back, where the stage would have been, and saw one green, clad hand sticking out from under a wooden beam. He heard the faint groan of the person under it, and immediately knew the person was still alive.

The damage had been terrible. The structure looked as if someone had snapped the place in half, and set in on fire. There were burned seats and scorched carpets along with broken beams and fallen balconies everywhere. Zuko stepped carefully toward the person under the beam, taking note of the firemen entering the building.

The girl under the beam lay down in an awkward position, with her arms and legs bend strangely and her lower half pinned down by the beam. She wore heavy makeup and a strange costume, hinting that she was an actress.

"Hey!" Zuko called out to the firemen "There's a girl here who needs your help."

Three of the firemen lumber over to where Zuko knelt beside the injured, young actress. "What are you doing here kid?" One of them said gruffly "This place is on fire, if you hadn't noticed!"

The truth was, Zuko hadn't noticed; he felt an intense need to be there, like an instinct. All he realized was the he was in a destroyed theatre with a girl who needed help. Suddenly, a panic raised in his chest as he realized the severity of his situation. The building was on_** fire **_and he didn't notice?

"Leave the kid alone." another fireman commanded "He just saved this girl's live. Let's move!"

The three firemen lifted the beam off the girl, and carried and escorted Zuko out if the building. They each took hold of a side of the beam and lifted it enough for Zuko to bring the girl into his arms and back away into the street. There was a ready ambulance not far from the hole in the back of theatre where Zuko handed her over to the EMTs.

But as she was being lifted into the ambulance, she took his hands and coughed "Thank you." with a weak cough. Zuko froze. It had been a long time since anyone ever thanked him for anything. For a moment, he felt more alive than he had since his mother vanished. He gave a rare, genuinely smile to the girl and said "You're welcome."

"Suki!" called a boy.

"Sokka." She coughed weakly. But before he could get to her, the ambulance doors closed.

Zuko turned to Sokka. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine. What happened to her?"

"She was trapped under a beam until some firemen and I rescued her."

"Wow," Sokka's eyes widened in wonder "You're like some kind of hero." When Zuko made no reply, he continued "What's your name? I think I've seen you at Issho Academy before."

"It's Zuko. You probably have." With nothing else to say, he waved goodbye and left.

When he turned the corner, Zuko suddenly felt his heart pounding. For the first time, he really got a grip on what had happened. He entered a burning building. He saved a life. That boy, Sokka, had called him a hero.

'_Me, a hero.' _He thought almost giddily_ 'If only Mom could have seen me.'_ His pounding heart slowed and sank to the sidewalk as he leaded against the alley wall. 'But she wouldn't. The only people I have left are Azula and Ozai… and Iroh!'

He took a deep breath._ 'Iroh would care if I was a hero. And I need to get away from my sister as soon as possible.'_ He walked down the alley and made his way to the familiar coffee shop his uncle owned.

)-()-()-()-(

The Bombing of Ba Sing Se Theatre was the biggest story of the night, and would be for quite a while. Every news stations was down in Ba Sing Se, giving so much information that you didn't have to actually be there to know everything that was going on. Ty Lee and Mai sat on Azula's white sofa.

"…nearly 7 now lay dead and dozens more are injured-"

"I'm not sure this is a good idea anymore, Azula." Ty Lee squeaked, clutching a red pillow. "People might get hurt."

Azula glared at her longtime friend "Are you chickening out, now? That's what we want."

"You _want_ people to get hurt?" Mai gasped incredulously "Have you lose your mind?"

"If we want people to respect Huo, they have to understand that we're not going to put up with anything; we have to prove that we're the strongest."

Her two companions looked down, deep in thought. "Please don't tell me you…" Ty Lee trailed off. Her voice losing its usual cheerfulness.

"I had nothing to do with the bomb, if that's what you're asking. I plan to spread the message across and inspire the people of Huo to put the rest of Yuansu City in its place. My dad takes care the political stuff, and I'm in charge of what happens on the on the field."

"Your dad knows about this?" Mai narrowed her eyes.

"He doesn't have to," Azula brushed it off "It would have happened anyway; I'm just helping out."

Ty Lee remained silent_ 'I wish we could just paint our toenails like normal girls.'_

But they weren't normal; they couldn't be with Azula for a friend. She was ambitious, ruthless, and extremely clever. While she did like the idea of Huo being the boss of Yuansu City, she wasn't sure she wanted to help hurt people; violence just wasn't in her nature.

She shared a look with Mai and a secret message passed through her eyes.

_'I know; she's crazy.'_


	7. Aftermath

In the blank, silent hospital room, Suki was slowly regaining consciousness. The room seemed to spin around and blur as her head ached and tried to understand the situation. She sat up and took a deep breath. The hospital room was white with green tiled floor and banged up metal chairs for visitors. It was cold, despite the low hum of heater that struggled to warm the small room.

A gruff-looking nurse entered with a tray of food. She was short and stunt, with beady brown eyes and rough skin, but she smiled kindly at the patient laying in front of her. "Here you go dear. Eat up; you need your strength." She chirped in a soft, sweet accent.

"Thank you," Suki replied sleepily "Why am I here? What happened?"

The nurse placed the tray in Suki lap and sat down in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs. "It was terrible," she replied shaking her head, "Some ruffians planted a bomb in the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se. Killed 7 people. It was awful."

Suki felt her skin crawl and suddenly lost her appetite "People…died?"

"You one of the lucky one, I must say; you slept for almost three days. If that boy hadn't gone in and found you... we might not be having this conversation."

"A boy? Who?" Suki's grogginess vanished.

"I'm not sure; he left the scene as soon as the ambulance came. That's what the witnesses say. Some people said they knew him; that he was a young man from Huo. But that's totally impossible since those people don't care about anyone but themselves. They were probably seeing things, or lying." The kind nurse got up. "Those little beasts, thinking they can just bust up the place willy-nilly; someone should give them what coming to them. Why were you in the theatre dear?"

"I was one of the actresses." She replied hoarsely as she stared at the lumpy, grey-brown oatmeal.

"That would explain the silly outfit you had on when you got here." The nurse laughed. She walked over the Suki and fixed her blankets. The thin, stretchy blankets provide little comfort, but the nurse's kindness made it much nicer. "Get some rest and eat you breakfast. You shouldn't waste energy talking, my mistake. I'll check up on you in a few hours." With that, she exited the tiny, cold room.

It was three in the afternoon when Suki final visitors. Her parents and various news stations had spoken to her earlier that day. Now her crush, Sokka, and his sister, Katara, were visiting her. Katara hugged her gently and fussed with her hair. "We're so glad your okay." She cried.

"How are you feeling, Suki?" Sokka asked tenderly.

"Fine," she replied "I've felt worse."

"Worse than being blown up?" Katara asked.

"Katara, don't be so insensitive!" Sokka chastised "I'm so sorry about my sister."

"No, really Sokka, it's okay."

"Are you sure? Do you need you pillow fluffed or something." Sokka asked.

Suki was surprised at how attentive and sensitive Sokka was being. Before the bombing, he had barely noticed her; now, he was treating her like a princess.

)-()-()-()-(

A week after the bombing, it was time for someone else to die. In an abandoned building in Buru, in Huo, three missing girls waited, helpless and defenseless, to learn their fate.

Song, Jin, and Yue sat in the cold, damp cell half-naked and terrified. The three were huddled together for warmth; Song was curled up on Yue's lap; Jin had her arms around the both of them; Yue rested her head on Jin's shoulder. The men that had kidnapped them seemed unaware of what to do with them and the fear was killing them.

Hard, loud footsteps woke them up. A tall, intimidating man in a business suit came down the stairs and glared at them through his dark glasses. "Get up." He commanded roughly. He tossed a small black suitcase in their direction. "Be dressed in ten minutes." He left without another word.

Desperate from the cold and the humiliation, the girls scrambled to get some decent clothing on. When they were fully dresses, they looked down at their wardrobes; they all wore tight red t-shirts, black flats and black pants. There were no coats or jackets in the suitcase, so they were still extremely cold but they knew better than to complain.

The man was back in exactly ten minutes, with two others. The men gathered up the girls roughly and brought them outside to a large, shiny, black car. The girls were shoved in the back, secretly wishing that the nightmare was over.

It was night and the streets were empty. The car strolled undisturbed through the "slums" of Buru, the Tengah, and into the outskirts of Zheng Xing. They stopped in a park several block from Issho Academy, where all three girls were students. The whole ride there, Yue kept her arms around her fellow captives protectively.

"Don't worry; we'll get out of this." She would whisper from time to time.

The men led them to a hill in the center of the park. "Lay down." One man commanded. The girls felt disgusted and furious at the order. "That means now!" he barked, pushing Song to the ground. Jin and Yue followed suit on either side of her and took her hands.

The man took out a small handgun and shot them in the back, three times each. And left. He left knowing that he was murderer, but he didn't once flinch.

)-()-()-()-(

Song resisted the urge to scream out in agony from fear that they would come back and finish her off. There was an unbearable pain in her back and shoulder that tore through her body like white-hot needles being poked into her. After what few like hours, she stirred. Song couldn't tell if Jin and Yue were alive but instead of dwelling on that, she tried to get up. The pain spiked up to an unbelievable level that freeze her and took her breath away. A few minutes later, the poor, determined girl tried again. She gasped and squeaked in pain, but kept going. Slowly, agonizingly, she made it onto her feet and limped down the hill.

"Help!" she cried, struggling through the agony, "Is anyone here?" She wanted to scream, but was too scared to lift her vioce much higher

A flash of light shined onto her face "Hey kid, what are you doing here?" an angry female voice shouted "It's nearly two in the morning! Why are you..."

"We were attacked!" Song's voice became a little stronger "Please help us!"

The woman cursed loudly and called some other people to gather round "Someone, call an ambulance!" she shouted. She and the other park officers ran up the hill to where the girls had been left. As the woman reached out for Song, she fainted into her arms.

In the pitch blackness of silent, gloomy night, the other officers knelt down beside the other two girls. Jin was warm, unconscious, but alive; Yue was…cold. So cold. Some say you look peaceful when you're dead, like your sleeping, but Yue looked far from peaceful. She eyes were wide open, facial features twisted and teeth clenched in horror; she looked like she was still expecting the bullets to rip through her half-starved body.

"We were too late for the blond one, but the other one is still hanging on." One officer reported "She'll make it if the ambulance gets here in time." The officer and two others looked for signs of consciousness in Jin and finding none, they feared the worst.

Soon, however, the shrill, distinct siren of the ambulance exploded out of the cold silence of night. EMTs rushed out to take the surviving girls to the hospital.

)-()-()-()-(

The next morning, Sokka hopped down the stairs with his usual, but recently absent, bountiful energy. Before the drama with Yue and the bombing, Sokka had been a pretty happy guy, ready crack jokes and make people laugh. And that morning, it seemed like the old Sokka was coming back; he just woke up and suddenly felt like himself again.

Katara and Hakoda were waiting for him downstairs eating breakfast. Katara stared half-heartedly at her nearly empty plate of pancakes, twirling her fork around the maple syrup over and over again. Their father seemed distracted and distant, which was rather unusual for him unless something important was on his mind.

He slowed his pace at the sight of his unusually quiet family and walked over to the dining room with his good mood evaporated. "You don't have good news for me, do you?"

"No, he doesn't" Katara replied quietly.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Sokka, your sister tells me you knew the daughter of Tui's councilman, Yue?"

"Yeah, we went on…ya know, a date. Once" '…_And she had to leave with some jerk she didn't even like.' _"You mean the still haven't found her?"

"They found her body." Katara answered distantly.

The air in the house suddenly dropped twenty degrees. Sokka just stood there, not sure of whether to scream and cry, or punch a hole in the wall. "She's...dead?"

"I'm so sorry Sokka. But I'm afraid La isn't safe for you anymore." Hakoda explained. "I think it would be better if you stay with your grandparents from a few days."

"What?" the siblings cried in shock. Even Katara, who understood her dad better than she understood herself, wasn't expecting this.

"You can't be serious, Dad!" Katara argued "Don't you think this is a little ridiculous?"

"Katara, Sokka, you know I love you both; I couldn't forgive yourself if something happened to you. Tui is much safer than La."

"But…" Sokka began to protest.

"This is for the best."

"But Yu-"Katara was going to protest that Yue was from Tui, but she realized it was too soon. "Fine."

)-()-()-()-(

Later that afternoon, Sokka and Katara were standing outside their grandmother and step-grandfather's, (Gran-Gran Kanna and Master Pakku -a nick-name that came from his years as a martial arts master), large home near the center of Tui telling their father goodbye.

"Promise you'll be good?" Hakoda asked his daughter.

"I promise dad." Katara smiled.

"Promise you'll make sure your brother doesn't break anything?" he continued.

"Ha ha, very funny dad." Sokka laughed sarcastically.

"Come on," Kanna called from the door "Do want to sleep outside tonight?"

"Bye dad." The two yelled over their shoulders as they ran inside from the cold. Only Gran-Gran was there to greet them because Master Pakku was staying out late with some of his martial arts students. Kanna showed her grandchildren to their own separate bedrooms and went downstairs to make dinner.

After dinner, Pukka arrived home and suggested he and Sokka watch some sports to help take his mind off his grief. Meanwhile, Katara was helping Kanna water the small greenhouse she tended to in the backyard. It was a rectangular glass building filled to the brim with plants and flower, either in pots on shelves or hanging from the ceiling. It was hard work watering every single one, but it seemed to be worth it, since Kanna and Pukka had a beautiful garden all to themselves year round.

"Katara, are you feeling alright?"

"Huh, what's that Gran-Gran?"

"You seem upset about something. DO you want to talk about it?"

Katara sat down on a little wooden bench in the back of the greenhouse "It's just that everything is so crazy now."

"Trust me dear," Kanna replied "Thing have always been crazy."

"You know what Gran-Gran? I'm scared; I'm scared to death of the raiders. I mean first mom," Katara held back a sob as tears started to well up in her eyes "now Yue. It's like their after everyone we care about. Who's next?"

Kanna sat down a put her withered, old arm around her granddaughter's shoulders "Now listen, Katara. I understand your fear; heck, I'm pretty scared too. But you can't let that fear hang over your life forever, because when you do, you've already let them win."

"I don't want to be scared. I want to brave like mom was; I bet she was never scared."

"Are you kidding me," Kanna interjected "When she was your age, she still slept with a nightlite!"

"Really?" Katara asked, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"Bravery isn't the opposite of fear, it the ability to conquer it; your mother was conqueror." Kanna smiled fondly "And you're so much like her."

"Thank you Gran-Gran. I needed that." Katara stood up. "We should get back inside before that boys start thinking we froze to death."

"I suppose your right." Kanna smiled "Let's go back where it's warm."

The two women picked up their coats and walked through the sliding door of the greenhouse and re-entered the house. Pakku was intensely focused on some baseball game, but Sokka was nowhere to be found.

"Master Pak-" Katara began.

He shushed her "Not now the game's on. You're brother upstairs."

Kanna leaned in and whispered to Katara "He gets so worked up when his favorite team is about lose."

"I'm gonna check on Sokka." She whispered back. Katara walked up the wide staircase and went to the guestroom her brother was staying in while Kanna sat down on the fine leather sofa next to her husband.

"…if you're feeling better, bye." He had just finished talking to someone on the phone.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, I was talking to Suki. She got out of hospital a few hours ago."

"Wow that's great!" Katara exclaimed "I can't wait to see her."

'Yeah, neither can I.' Sokka thought worryingly.

"Sokka, are you ok?"

He snapped out of his thoughts "Fine Katara, I'm fine."

"Well then you better get unpacking; you don't expect to be living out of your suitcase for the next week, do you?" she teased.

"Do I have too?"

"Yes." Katara stated bluntly as she turned to go out the door.

"Sisters,"

"I heard that, you know!"

"Good, you were suppose to!"

From downstairs, Kanna and Pakku, watching the end of the game (Pakku's team managed a last-minute victory), could hear their grandchildren arguing. Kanna leaned on her husband's shoulder "Do you remember when Kya and Kang were like that?"

"It doesn't feel so long ago anymore." Pakku smiled.


	8. The Plan

A few months passed, winter was coming to an end, and spring was coming around the corner once more. The naked tree branches were now covered in tiny green buds and the unending rain yielded little flowers of all colors: pink, red, yellow, white, blue. The crowd of people rushed to and fro to escape the downpour covering their heads with umbrellas, newspapers, and even plastic bags.

The Friday afternoon dragged on slowly. At last, the students of Issho Academy were dismissed from their classes, but many hesitant to step out into the pouring rain. A few brave souls dashed up and down the slick, wet streets into dry buildings near the school. Katara and Sokka ran walked into the Jasmine Dragon, a refuge for many soaked teenagers, and sat down at a table with Aang.

The café was considerable warmer than the outside, and the soft glow of the lambs sharply contrasted the dark grey sky. The shaggy gold carpet was sadly subject to abuse by the wet shoes of the patrons. The place was soon crowded by people waiting for warmth and dryness. While the Aang, Sokka, and Katara chatted quietly and sipped their coffee, Toph showed up with Suki.

"Hey guys. Can you believe this rain? You'd think Mother Nature's boyfriend broke up with her or something." Toph joked.

She and Suki took their seats on either side of Sokka in next to one of the windows.

"Yes, but the flowers are coming in nicely." Suki commented, glancing outside. Toph was right; Nature looked pissed.

The Jasmine Dragon had been losing some business from all the districts but Huo, and today, almost every booth had someone wearing the district Huo emblem.

"I kind of feel weird today. Where did all the regular costumers go?" Katara asked worryingly.

"Didn't you hear Sugar Queen?" Toph answered "Rumor has those creeps that got Yue are on the prowl again. Everyone's going back to their home districts."

"So, they're just giving up?" Aang interjected. "That's practically helping the raiders!"

Sokka sipped the last of his coffee and remarked "Unless you can make them feel like that whole integration thing is safe, people are going to back down because they don't enjoy death threats. Have some big thing going on where everyone's invited and if it goes off without a hitch, boom, instant happiness."

"Sokka, you're a genius!" Katara exclaimed.

"I know that; it's nice to know you finally realized it."

"We could have a public event!"

"And what exactly will that do?" Toph questioned dryly, raising her eyebrows.

"Exactly what Sokka just said: make people feel safe."

"How is that like anything I said?" Sokka asked still puzzled.

"Picture this: we have a huge public event, right? We invite everyone, anyone who will come, from any district. We can have it here in Zhong Xing."

"And if it goes off without a hitch, people can start to understand why integration is a good thing." Aang finished with a smile.

"Exactly," Katara beamed "What do you think?"

Sokka pondered the idea for a moment "You're completely lost in optimism, aren't you little sister." Katara's smiled faded a little "But since we're dead meat anyway, why not?"

Aang quickly looked around the room. Most people were ignoring them, but one teenage boy, a student of Issho Academy, glared over his shoulder at Katara. He would have been really handsome if it weren't for the nasty expression he wore.

"Hide," his girlfriend warned quietly "Don't be rude."

"Shut up On ji." He sneered. Poor On ji sank back into her seat.

Hide turned his attention to Katara and her friends "Get out." he mouthed menacingly.

Katara only stared at her for a moment and turned back to her friends. The girl openly sneered at them and exclaimed loudly "Since the owner is from Huo I don't think he'd appreciated outsiders in his shop." A murmur of cheers rang out among the other patrons.

"I guess we should leave now. I'll go up front and pay." Sokka suggested.

"Sure," Katara agreed "We'll meet you outside."

The friends left the restaurant and awkwardly stood outside in the rain until Sokka came out. "I guess we should just go home."

"But where are going to meet to plan Katara "big public event"?" asked Suki.

After a pause Toph suggested "Maybe you can meet at my place; we've got plenty of room."

"Excellent!" Katara cried jovially "Give up your address so we can come over next Friday night."

"Sounds like a plan." Aang smiled.

)-()-()-()-(

Meanwhile, in a semi-demolished old school building in the Buru neighborhood, three figures waited impatiently for their "business partners".

Ty Lee passed the time by doing cartwheels and pondering her situation. Whenever Azula was planning, it had to be serious. For one thing, Azula was not a fan of old hoodies and hand-me-down jeans, so it was startling to hear her ask them to wear such non-descript, _unfashionable_, outfits to a broken little part of Huo that everyone else had outgrown.

She watched Mai sitting on a stack of wooded boxes, craving along the lines of graffiti with a Swiss army knife and Azula standing tall and proud, looking like a legendary figure to be admired and revered. With the way Azula did things, it would only be matter of time before she had her own statue in Zhong Xing.

Azula was a Type A personality, a leader. She could manipulate anyone, even the City Council if she wanted to. But Azula was also dangerous, a ruthless girl with little regard for the pain she inflicted on others.

_'I'd follow Azula anywhere, wouldn't I?'_ Ty Lee thought sadly to herself. Here she was, among broken glass and cringing rats to make a deal that she wasn't sure was even legal. Azula, along with Mai, had been her best friends for years. They had gone to pre-school together, but somehow, they had never been on equal footing.

Azula made the rules.

Azula made you follow the rules.

Azula told them who they could or couldn't talk to.

Azula decided what they did on the weekends.

Azula was the leader.

Azula was the boss.

Azula was the queen.

_'We shouldn't be here.'_ Ty Lee was sure this was going to be something she regretted, but Azula…

"Geez," Mai complained, snapping Ty Lee out of her thoughts "What the heck is taking so long?"

"Patience, Mai" Azula chastised "Whining isn't going to make them come faster."

Ty Lee spoke up "And who are we waiting for exactly?"

"It would be best not to tell you." Azula shushed her "Just follow along."

_"Sure,'_ Ty Lee thought bitterly_ 'We've always done that.'_ She shook her head_ 'No Ty Le, don't think like that. It's good that Azula's got everything under control.'_

The three girls waited another minute before a little old red car parked in front of them. A thin, wiry woman skittered out of the front seat wearing a large hat, glasses, coat, and a scarf. She was buried under so much a fabric that it was hard to see any skin at all.

"Did you bring the information?" she asked in a hoarse, nervous tone.

When Azula reached into a bag and pulled out a small, white envelope, she handed it to the small woman and waited as she slipped it into her own bag. "And my information?"

The woman glared at Azula through her dark glasses and while handing her a pink envelope, she looked over at Mai and Ty Lee. "These are your accomplices?"

Mai sneered at the frail little woman. When she did, Ty Lee stopped cart wheeling. For some reason she, the latter, did not like that word accomplice; it made her feel like a criminal.

_'You're just being silly, Ty Lee'_ she thought to herself_ 'We're not doing anything illegal. It's just a simple exchange of information.'_

"When do we meet your boss?" Azula demanded, ignoring the woman's question.

"Soon," answered the woman. "I didn't expect you to be so…young."

"We didn't expect you be so pathetic." Azula countered with a smirk.

The woman gritted her teeth and she turned pink. "Watch your mouth, little girl."

"Maybe you should watch your back." Azula hissed in response.

The woman took out the envelope "One step out of line and the boss never sees this. You get the blame."

"Do I?" Azula smirked. "Because you're the one responsible for delivering the message, if the boss doesn't it, I'll never see him. But he'll see you again, won't he."

The woman gritted her teeth together. "In two weeks, you will receive a message requesting your present at a given address. Don't be late."

"Don't be jealous." Azula responded coolly.

"Of you?" she snorted "I don't have much to be jealous of."

"We'll see." Azula turned to Mai and Ty Lee "Girls let's leave. We have what we came for."

While the woman sped off in her car, the girls walked in the opposite direction with Azula walking in front. She stopped abruptly "Ty Lee, Mai, you're my best friends and I know I can trust you, right?"

"Of course Azula. What are you getting at?" Mai inquired.

"I have a mission for you two. But not now. Be patient."

)-()-()-()-(

Two days later, Aang found himself in front the biggest house he had ever seen in his life. It sat upon a small, green hill and was surrounded by an elegant iron fence. He stood at the front of the giant gate wondering how to get in.

"Name." One of two somber guards demanded.

"Aang Avatar." He answered, adjusting his cap. "I'm here to see Toph."

"Oh yes, you're one her _friends_." The guard sighed "You can enter."

Aang waited as the huge swung open and passed. For some reason, the guards tone had bothered him, like he didn't like the idea of Toph having friends. When he reached the huge red brick mansion, a doorman let him in. Aang was completely unused to such formality and walked in awkwardly, while a stiffly dressed maid led him to the room where the rest of his friends were staying.

"Aang, you made it!" Katara exclaimed excitedly as she rushed up to hug him. Toph was perched on the edge of a fuzzy white sofa and Sokka lay on his back on the bright carpet.

"Where've you been Twinkle Toes?" Toph snorted grumpily "You were supposed to be, like, hours ago."

"He's fifteen minutes late, Toph." Sokka interrupted in an annoyed tone "Don't be so dramatic."

Snubbed, Toph just stuck out her tongue at him and hopped off the sofa. "So, Sugar Queen, do you have any idea what you want to do?"

"Actually, yes." She answered. "I was hoping we could open up a public garden, in the middle of Zhong Xing.; it would make sense since it'll be spring soon. We could have a grand opening to celebrate-a picnic. There can be games, and contests, and music-"

"Katara!" Aang interrupted "Slow down. Do you really think people will pay attention to that?"

"We'll make them pay attention to it." Katara replied defensively.

"Trust me Aang," Sokka joked "Katara has a way of getting what she wants."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment, Katara." Toph teased.

"Whatever." Katara was on the edge of losing her cool "I was thinking it could be memorial...to Yue."

Sokka smiled gently "That sounds like a good idea."

"Hey, has anyone seen Suki?" asked Toph.

)-()-()-()-(

Zuko couldn't help but be upset. It was raining like crazy for a week and his boots were starting to get soggy .He slouched over with his red hoodie covering his face while the rain started to let up. He should have known to bring an umbrella.

He passed through one deserted alley in the south of Diqui where he saw a modest, little memorial. It was a small framed picture of the girl who was killed a few months ago-Yue-surrounded by long-wilted roses. It was rather depressing to think that all that was left of this young girl –once so full of hope, beauty, and love- was a forgotten photo and a bunch of dead flowers.

"I knew her." A quiet female voice.

Zuko spun around to see a girl his age looking sadly at the memorial. "She was friend of yours?"

"Kind of. I've met her a few times and didn't really like her. But I never wanted her to die; I never thought she'd be here one day and gone the next."

"It must be terrifying to think about. She was a student at Issho, just like me."

"And me."

Zuko looked up at her. She seemed very familiar. "What's your name?"

"I'm Suki." she said stepping over to him.

"My name is Zuko."

"To think, that could be a picture of me." Suki muttered to herself but Zuko heard her.

"What do you mean?"

"You know that bomb that went off in the theatre, The Great Wall of Ba Sing Se? I was in it when it went off. I would have died if a boy hadn't come in to save him, but he vanished, so I never got to thank him."

"Were you an actress?"

"Yes I was. How'd you know."

Zuko smiled and gave little chuckle. "With bright red, white, and black face paint and a green dress?"

"How did you know?" Suki inquired. Then it hit her "It was you; you saved me!" she gasped in surprised.

"I guess I did." Zuko replied somewhat awkwardly. He was so unused to being appreciated that Suki reaction seemed completely foreign; she might as well have been speaking another

"Thank you." Suki gave him a hug. In that minute, Zuko felt warm-very warm. But it was pleasant. Like he had been living in the Arctic for six years and was suddenly teleported to Hawaii. He felt more accomplished, welcome, and accepted than he had in years, as if he finally found someone to trust.


	9. Peace Slipping Away

Just weeks after the initial plan to memorialize Yue, Katara's vision was coming together beautifully. The various colorful flowers-roses, daisies, tulips, orchids, jasmines, snapdragons, poppies-thickly covered each corner of the park, along with a wide ring of white Easter lilies, Yue's favorite flower, around the hill where she died. Installed at the top of the hill was a beautiful white marble fountain in the shape of three swans that gently sprayed clear, bubbling water into a small, koi-fish filled pool.

The sky was strangely beautiful for such a sad occasion- plenty of sunshine and no clouds; It was almost as if it were mocking her death. The birds and park animals scurried around oblivious to the service that was about to begin. A gentle breeze completed the picturesque scene. On any other day, people would be out in the sunshine enjoying themselves, but today the park was very quiet.

A large crowd of people gathered at the foot of the hill; people of Kongqi were present; people of the Shui were present; people of Diqui were present; even people of Huo were present. They had all come to see the final farewell to a young girl most of them had never had the chance to meet.

But no-one noticed that in the back of the crowd, a tight group of teenagers looked upon the sad occasion with resentment.

_'No one from Huo gets that kind of recognition.'_ One girl thought with a mix of sadness and anger. _'It's not fair; what makes us the bad guys?'_

"I don't even know what we're doing here, On Ji." The girl's boyfriend sneered.

"We promised the headmaster that we would observe the ceremony on behalf of the school, remember Hide?"

"I still think it's stupid."

)-()-()-()-(

Mai sat on the grass in the front row with Ty Lee oddly still next to her, caressing the petals of the small white flowers at the base of the hill. It was so strange to see the sun shining cheerful upon this ominous, tragic stop. She barely even knew this girl yet here she was, reading a sad little pamphlet about her life; apparently this Yue girl's greatest hope was to bring peace and beauty to the world.

_'It's such a shame that this much beauty was created to mourn her.'_ Mai thought bitterly.

She was nationalistic (or more correctly, district-alistic) like her friends, but she could never understand what made the other districts so bad. It was an unspoken rule in Huo not to say directly that the other districts were inferior, but everything she had been told as a child suggested that it was true.

And here in the park, she was surprised at how similar it was to a normal park in Huo; mother scolding their rambunctious children; snobby pre-teen girls trying to avoid getting dirty; men discussing whatever it was men discussed; boys pretending to be men. She honestly had no idea how to tell who was from where and she was pretty sure none of them could tell either. She found it odd how that no-one seemed to care who they sat next to. Or maybe they were afraid to racist-er, district-ist- after such a tragic event.

Over the next few hours, several of the people that Yue Tsukino loved and vice versa came up and talked about her life, her personality, and her accomplishments. Her wasted potential. If Yue was half as great as her loved ones claimed, she probably still would have been the most beautiful, kind, and perfect person to have ever existed; but then again, melancholy breeds idealized memories.

Mai found herself strangely interested in the service; it was morbid, in its own way, considering that Yue could be looking down on everyone with sad eyes at that very moment. What would she think? Would she be happy that she was remembered? Angry that her killers had not yet been punished? Sad that she couldn't be with her family and friends?

The last two people to speak were the survivors of the attack, Song and Jin, and they gave their accounts of the incident. Mai, who was known for her fascination with gore and frightening things, felt her stomach turn to ice and drop beneath the ground; it had never occurred to her that something like that could happen to a real person.

She looked at Ty Lee who was still quiet, looking like she was made of stone; her lips was pursed tightly together and there were visible lines on her forehead. _'She looks so guilty. But why?'_

)-()-()-()-(

Later that evening, Ty Lee and Mai were sitting on Azula's large red bed while she surfed the internet. Azula, clearly upset, began writing on a notepad furiously. "This is bad-no terrible."

"What is, Azula?" Ty Lee asked twirling her long brown braid.

"You know Ty Lee; you were there this afternoon." Azula answered in annoyed deadpan.

"Oh right the memorial." Ty Lee sighed. "What is the problem?"

"Sympathy." Ty Lee and Mai exchanged confused glances. "If people start treating this a tragedy, it makes us look bad; people will stop supporting the cause."

"But it is a tragedy." Ty Lee insisted.

Azula merely shrugged it off "So? Anyway, its time you guys started lifting your weight and went on your mission." She reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a yellow folder. "Here Mai."

"What about Ty Lee?"

"She already got her assignment."

Mai turned to her oddly quiet, pink-clad friend and then to her more intimidating one, "Why wasn't I told?"

"Would you have cared?" Azula scoffed. To bee honest, Mai wouldn't have, but she did now.

)-()-()-()-(

People from Hou were not known to be sneaky; they liked to stand out. And that is made Mai and Ty Lee's job even harder.

"This is so boring!" Ty Lee complained "What do you think they're doing in there?"

"Quiet." Mai hissed "Do you want the guards to hear us?" She looked over at the Bei Fong mansion "This chick's almost as rich as Azula."

"Mai, I'm tired; I wanna go home."

Mai paused for a minute.

"Why are we even doing this?" Ty Lee continued "These people never hurt us."

For the first time in living memory, Mai wasn't sure about herself. "Whatever Azula's planning, it's violent." She said half-to herself and half-to Ty Lee. "But Azula always had a good plan."

"Maybe that's the problem." Ty Lee suggested she laughed in disbelief. "Look at us; two fifteen year old girls crawling around a mansion in Diqui in the middle of the night. Some 'sleepover'."

Mai turned away from her.

"You know what; I don't even see what the big deal is. Just because someday we might have to live with them doesn't mean we have to like them but it does mean we have to hate them."

Mai came the closest to yelling as she ever had "**THEM**? They are outsiders, wiping away our tradition; we shouldn't have to be near them at all."

"But they're people!"

"Ty Lee, you're my best friend-along with Azula-and you're from Hou. Why can't you understand why we're doing this?"

Ty Lee was stunned "Wow Mai, I didn't know you cared so much."

"I-I just like to show it. Emotions get you in trouble; I know that first-hand."

"Doesn't that make thinking for yourself wrong too?" Ty Lee inquired.

"Ok," Mai sighed supposed to do?"

"Try to live in peace?"

"But they're so …different from us."

"We're so different from each other." Ty Lee replied slyly.

"You just don't get it, do you Ty Lee?"

"Yes you do! You don't believe anything your saying, do you?" Ty Lee challenged.

Mai sighed and looked around nervously, avoiding her eyes "It treasonous to think…"

"…for yourself?"

The two girls stood facing each other for a long moment with no sound but the wind and quiet chatter from inside the mansion.

"Mai..."

"What do you plan to do, Ty Lee?"

)-()-()-()-(

In the Bei Fong family, life was controlled by many strict rules. The only person exempt from those rules was Toph. Well, that isn't entirely true; she wasn't free from the rules but she broke them so often, it didn't seem to matter anymore. For example, she was supposed to be home by 5:30 and in bed by 9:00 unless she was doing homework (ha!) but it was nearly midnight by the time she had begun preparing for bed.

But before dozing off, she decided to spend some time on her balcony and let the cool night air run through her thin yellow nightgown.

"You don't get it, do you Ty Lee" she heard someone say. She leaned back against the French doors and listened in on their conversation.

_'Who are these people?'_ she wondered _'and what are they doing here?'_

)-()-()-()-(

The next morning at school, she told her friends about what she had heard.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping like that Toph." Katara warned.

"Eavesdropping! They were on my property!"

"They why didn't you call the police?"

"Because they were too entertaining."

"See? You were totally eavesdropping!"

"Guys, relax." Aang tried to resolve the issue "Maybe they were just lost."

"Even though there was a huge gate that said 'Bei Fong Estate'? Not likely." Sokka responded doubtfully.

"So you think they might be spying on me?" Toph narrowed her eyes "Wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

"Why would someone spy on you?" Katara asked.

"Why not?" Toph asked "I'm young, pretty-or so I'm told, and rich; perfect kidnap-and-demand-a-ransom material."

"Maybe you should tell your parents." Aang suggested in an alarmed toned.

"I'm kidding, mostly. They didn't sound like kidnappers; more like teen girls, around our age, who just want to see how the other half lives."

"Still, it's creepy." Sokka commented.

"Yeah, let's talk about something else." Katara suggested "Are you guys coming to the game on Saturday?"

"Yeah that sounds like fun; we'll be there." Aang smiled at his girlfriend.

"Speak for yourself, Twinkle toes. My parents and I are going to an amusement park; we're gonna be out of town all weekend."

"Really why?" Sokka asked.

"More 'bonding', but this time, _I_ get to call the shots." Toph bragged.

Katara seemed pleased "I guess your relationship with your parents is getting better?"

"Ya, it's great that we're finally talking-really talking."

"And I guess threatening to run away didn't help." Katara added smugly.

"Believe what you want, Sugar Queen." Toph replied equally smug.

)-()-()-()-(

The moon hung low in the sky, a thin, crescent shaped sliver of light in the otherwise pitch black sky. Not a soul was present in back of the Jasmine Dragon but Azula, awaiting her connections.

"Your report was very interesting." The woman with whom she had met with Mai and Ty Lee said. "I wonder where you get your information."

"I have my sources." She responded without missing a beat.

"However, we're afraid it's not sufficient for our cause."

"Excuse me?" Azula demanded.

"Two teenagers from different districts in love don't justify our plans."

"Our plans? If I remember correctly, this was my plan to begin with."

"You couldn't execute such a plan on your own, child." The woman steamed.

"Oh, couldn't I? What do you really know about me?" Azula looked the woman square in the eye, "Are you so sure I'm not just letting you take some credit for my work?"

"Why would you possible want to do that? You seem like a glory-hogging brat if you ask me."

"Well too bad, because I didn't ask you."

_'As I care what you have to say.'_ Azula thought.

"Like I said before, what do you really know about me? Are you sure I'm not letting you do my dirty work? If someone's getting caught, it's you; no-one suspects the councilman's kid."

"You-you're just making empty threats." The woman's voice was shaky.

"And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one; I'm not threatening you, I'm just stating the facts that you don't want to hear." Azula smirked "Let's get down to business. Don't worry about the justifications; I'll get you all the justification you will ever need; you just need to get the agents in place."

"The center of Zhong Xing would be the perfect place to beginbecause the agents can move quickly throughout the city."

"Do you ever think properly?" Azula sighed irritably "It would be best to have them at each corner of the city because mob mentality will ensure that chaos spreads; once it does, our agents can quietly slip under the radar."

"Bu…"

"Besides, if they start all in the same location, there's a high change of getting caught. Geez, it's like you want this operation to be a failure. I hope that's not disloyalty I sense from you. Or is it just your inherit weakness?"

_'How dare she talk to me like!'_

"I'll have you know that I…"

"…will not tolerate failure. Would you?"

"No. Never."

"Good to see we have an understanding."

The woman took a deep breath and laughed out loud at herself. Her, a grown woman, afraid of a 14-year-old girl! How pathetic was that? "You're a horrible little monster, you know that?" she remarked with a nasty edge in her voice.

For once, Azula's voice was quiet, almost shy, "Yes, I do know; you're not the first person to say that." She turned around and looked up at the barely visible moon, thinking of her mother.

She never even noticed her uncle, working later than usual, sitting near the window, hearing every, single word.

)-()-()-()-(

The week passed quickly passed quickly and before anyone knew it, it was Saturday. For friends-a short girl, an even shorter boy, and two taller boys-stood at the doorway to their makeshift home in the poorest part of Diqui.

"Jet," the girl asked "Aren't you coming?"

The boy named Jet stayed leaning on the opposite wall. "No thanks, you guys go on without me."

"Are you sure?" One of the taller boys asked "If you wait too long, you might miss all the action."

"Yeah" the girl continued, laughing, "Then you'll sulk until the next time we go out because we got all the cool loot."

"I'm serious." Jet snapped "Something tells me today's gonna be different."


	10. The Face of Chaos

Katara jumped up and down on the cold metal bench in her short, purple cheerleading uniform watching her football team obliterate the other. It was the last two minutes of the game and her team winning 49-7. She was so excited and proud that she didn't even notice the harsh biting wind nipping at her bare skin while she and the other cheerleaders waved their metallic pompoms in the air, leading their team's fans in celebrating their certain victory and mocking the other team and their fans. The deafening roar from the excited crowd floated over the stadium and overshadowed every other sound. Few people could even hear themselves think.

But the jovial mood was quickly disrupted when, out of no-where, some people started screaming "Riot! Riot! Riot!" but not as if they were trying to start a riot, but as if "Riot" was a huge, perhaps Godzilla-like, monster coming to eat them all. It was barely even audible at first but it quickly grew louder and louder and louder as crowd grew more violent and more out of control. Suddenly the gleeful cheers transformed into screams of panic and fear.

Katara, confused, got down the bench looked around. The football players had stopped playing and were abandoning the field; fans were running unto the field and begun brawling. Cheerleader were being harassed or pushed aside; she could see Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai dodging sweating, overzealous spectators charging in their direction. She ran to Coach Yin asked her "What's going on? Why are all these people going crazy?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't know; I've never seen anything like this has never happened before" Coach Yin looked as scared and confused as Katara felt. She fished in her tracksuit pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Katara, go to my car in the East parking lot-the little blue bug-and in the passenger seat, you'll a red bullhorn; hurry and get it for me while make sure all the girls are accounted for."

"Alright." With sweaty hands, Katara took the keys from her and ran off the field, through the white-linoleum floored corridors of the stadium. She had been there a million times for previous football games but she still managed to get lost. Muscles tense and heart pounding, she finally made it outside.

'_Where the heck is Coach Yin's car?_' It was supposed to be a small and blue, but no car in that lot fit that description. Suddenly, Katara slapped herself in the forehead _'That's right, she said __**East**__ parking lot.' _She quickly changed direction and sprinted toward the right destination. Luckily for her the first car she saw fit Coach Yin's description and the key fit like a glove. When she opened the front door, surely enough, red bullhorn sat waiting in the passenger seat. She grabbed in, closed the door, and ran back as fast a she could.

On her way back, she spotted a tall young man who glared directly at her blocking her way. She skidded to a stop in front him. "Can I help you?" she asked impatiently. Without a word, he grabbed her, causing her to drop the bullhorn. "Hey!" she fought and kicked but it was not use; his grip on her was as tight as iron.

"Calm down." A girl commanded softly, "He won't hurt you if you cooperate."

"Who are you!" Katara screamed "What do you want with me?"

The girl didn't respond to her. "C'mon, we have to get her to home base." She told the boy "Let's hurry and get to the car."

The pair forced Katara back into the East parking lot where they tied her hands behind her back with a coarse rope. Then they shoved her in the back seat of a shiny new red car and speed away, barely missing a young boy.

"Stay down and don't let anyone see your face." The boy hissed to Katara.

The girl sat in the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment and pulled out a large kitchen knife. "If you try anything funny, we will have to hurt you. So just stay still and do what we say."

Katara laid facedown across the backseat of the car thinking about her situation. The car was moving-very quickly at that- and because she was tied up, she had no chance of escape. The best thing to do right now was to go along with whatever they planned until she could find a way to get free. Then she'd run away as fast she could to where she could get help.

She had no clue where they were going so she knew getting lost was a definite possibility, almost a guarantee. _'If I can get to a house or store and get to phone, I can call my dad or the police. If I escape, I should be able to identify them.'_

She craned her neck to look for any identifying features._ 'Two teenagers with dark hair; the girl is wearing a ponytail. How could I tell the police who they are? If I get to the police'_ she thought bitterly._ 'What am I going?_

The girl, fortunately, turned around to say something to her. "Is it true that you're dating someone from a different district?"

Katara's eyes widened._ 'How did she know that?'_ "Yes; I'm from Shui and he's from Kongqi." For a minute, she thought it probably wasn't a got idea to reveal too much personal information.

"What's his name?" the girl asked

Katara bit her lip. "I shouldn't say."

"You're not ashamed to admit that you're dating from different district?" she asked in a disgusted tone.

"Why would I be? I love him."

The girl stopped talking and just looked her, utterly perplexed. Katara took the chance to study her face; the smooth brown hair with long bangs; the wide, matching eyes; the small nose and thin eyebrows. In the rear-view mirror, she could see that the boy had hard, serious features but not much else.

Suddenly, the car veered a hard left and the boy cursed loudly.

"What going on?" Katara cried.

"Nothing! Shut up!" the boy screamed at her.

A terrible grating and crashing sound exploded into existence and Katara felt her body being thrown up and back against the seat. Shards of glass flew into the car and pricked her skin. A small stream of blood flowed down her arms and unto the ropes; her ponytail has half undone and her eyes were wide with horror as she beheld the deaths of her captures. They lay limp in their seats with a part broken telephone pole hanging through the windshield. _'How? How am I not dead?'_

It took a minute for her to hear the shouts and curses from a wild crowd outside the shattered car. She tried lifting herself from the wreckage, but she was too weak to move. She didn't how long it was but after what seemed like hours, she heard another voice, a male voice she had never heard before.

"Just hold still, I've got you." He soothed. He lifted her gently out of the car. Katara looked up into the tired-looking face of the paramedic.

"Hey!" she cried in shock

"Careful, little girl; you've severely injured." He warned solemnly.

Another paramedic helped the first man load her into the back of an ambulance and they sped toward the nearest hospital.

)-()-()-()-(

Aang had been high up in the stands when the riot began, safe from the hordes of animalistic fans-turned-brawlers but he was unsure if Sokka and Katara were safe. After all, Katara was near the fields, in the thick of the brawls. He hopped down from his seat and fought his way through the crowd until he saw the other cheerleaders but he quickly realized that Katara wasn't with them.

"Where's Katara?" he demanded.

"We don't know."

"I haven't seen her."

"I think she went to the parking lot."

Before sprinting toward the parking lot, he shout "thank you" over his shoulder. He searched each of the four parking lots put he say no sign of Katara, only a couple in a red car speeding out of the East parking lot.

"Aang!" Sokka appeared in the North parking "Have you seen Katara anywhere? She's gone missing!"

"I've been looking for her for almost a half-hour! I don't have a clue where she is."

"That bad; this is really bad."

"Sokka, why don't you look inside again while I check the rest of the outside area; knowing Katara, she probably wouldn't have wandered too far away."

The search lasted hours but came to no avail; Katara seemed to have vanished into thin air. All that was found was the red bullhorn she was sent to retrieve.

)-()-()-()-(

Coach Yin sat on the bench in the stadium surrounded by Hakoda, Sokka, Aang, Katara's grandparents, and the cheerleaders whose parents could not pick them up. "If only I hadn't asked her to get that stupid bullhorn." she lamented.

"It's alright." A cheerleader comforted her, "How could you have known?"

Kanna shook her head _'I lose both my children and now Katara, my precious granddaughter.'_ She thought bitterly.

Pakku, sensing his wife thoughts spoke up "Katara's a responsible girl; she'll find a way to contact us, wherever she is."

Then, as if the universe was bent on proving him right, Hakoda's cell phone rang.

"Hello? She is? Thank you." He sighed deeply, "Katara's in the hospital downtown."

"Is she alright?" Sokka inquired.

"I'm not sure; but she's got someone to take care of her. I'm going down there to check on her."

"I'm going to." Sokka declared.

"Can I come?" Aang asked "I really need to see if Katara's okay."

"Alright" Hakoda agreed "I'll call Gyatso."

Before Katara's family and boyfriend left, Coach Yin made a small request "Tell Katara I'm sorry."

)-()-()-()-(

In no time at all, the five of them were in Katara's hospital room, a room not unlike the one Suki had been confined to earlier; this riot made the bombing seem so far way, like a story that had happened to someone else. The room was so small that only three people were allowed in at a time and one of them had to a nurse.

"How are you felling Katara?" Aang asked.

"I feel like I need to sleep for a few weeks."

Aang laughed weakly "Maybe I should leave and let you rest."

"No," she shook her head "Not yet."

"Did they tell you what you're injuries were?"

"Just a few broken ribs and my left leg's badly messed up; I'll need to be on crutches for the next few weeks."

"Could have been worse; I'm just glad you survived." Aang smiled sincerely, though inside he winced.

"They others didn't." Katara stated quietly.

Sokka looked down at her thin cotton sheets "They had it coming."

"Sokka!" Katara cried "How could you say that?"

"Like this: THEY. HAD. IT .COMING. They kidnapped you and would have done who knows what else to you if they hadn't crashed. If you ask me, that's karma at work."

"But they were still people- kids like us."

"Kids who knew exactly what they were doing. Katara, how could you defend them after what they did to you?"

Katara pulled the sheets over her head and turned away from him.

"Katara!" Sokka shook his sister gently.

"Leave her alone, Sokka." Aang interrupted.

"Pardon me, Mr. Yang would like to see his daughter." A kindly old nurse announced with her thin, wrinkled hand on the door.

"Let's go Sokka."

"Sure buddy." He sighed. "Let's go."

)-()-()-()-(

Azula watched the chaos from her third story bedroom window in an almost sadistic manner. Screams filled the air and blood filled the streets; in the distance, she could that some skyscraper in Zhong Xing (she assumed it was Zhong Xing because as far as she knew, it was the only part of the city that had buildings that tall.) had been set on fire. Pleased with her work, she tied back her long black hair and slipped into her bed.

But she couldn't sleep, or even close her eyes. She had found her justification but it had hit closer to home than she had expected: her brother. She and her brother had never had the best relationship and she knew almost nothing about him, but she never though he would get involved with a girl from Diqui. A girl from Shui and a boy from Kongqi wasn't as controversial as a boy from Huo with a girl from Diqui.

She hadn't noticed it at first, but he had been hanging out with a girl Mai said she had seen in class before. After a little research, she found that she was from Kyoshi Island. She wanted to say that she didn't care who her brother hung out with, but she did, especially if was someone from another district.

Perhaps she did care about her brother, just a little, because she was afraid of what would happen to him after the riot, but she was more concerned about maintaining her plan. Riots were always good for starting district wars.

The one thing that escaped her was her friends' behavior. Lately Mai and Ty Lee had been quieter (Mai should she could understand, but Ty Lee?) and seemed less eager to please, thought Mai had lacked much enthusiasm from the beginning. Azula prided herself on her ability to read people and right now her sixth sense was telling her that her friends were pretty close to turning their backs on her. And for once she hoped she was wrong. Ty Lee and Mai were the only real friends she ever had and she'd rather cat off all her hair than lose them; they weren't just minion- they were like her family, much more so than her real one.

Unable to sleep, she got out of bed and walked downstairs to the backyard. She could hear the chaos, but she knew that the iron gate surrounding her house would keep any wayward rioters out of her hair. She breathed in the cold night air until her brother came down to check on her.

"Couldn't sleep?" Zuko appeared behind her.

"Not really."

"Neither can I. It's crazy out there."

"Maybe it wouldn't be if some people stayed in their place, this wouldn't be happening."

"What?"

"You know, Zuzu. You are your friend Suki too."

With that, Azula left her perplexed brother and went to inside.


	11. A Clue

In the aftermath of the riots, life in Yuansu City had changed dramatically. The bill that had allowed safe passage between the districts was on its way to being repealed and a strict curfew had been imposed. No one was allowed pass a 10 o'clock, apart from students, who had to be off the streets by 8 o'clock, and late-night workers who needed to carry special cards to avoid arrest. To make matters worse, hundreds of students were being pulled out of Issho Academy and sent to schools in their respective districts; their parents were afraid that they had made a terrible mistake sending thier children to the school that had quickly seemed to become a target. A brave few were still holding on stubbornly to the notion that people of each district should get along.

After the nearly dying in a car crash, Katara was sent to live with her grandparents to recuperate. It was late afternoon one Sunday, several weeks after the crash. Her ribs were almost completely healed and didn't hurt anymore, and her leg was completely healed, just awkward to move around again. She was still in bed, after taking a nap, when Aang came to visit her. He sat at the edge of her bed while she shirted into a sitting position.

"Feeling better?" he asked cheerfully, smiling brightly.

"A little." She smiled weakly. "I suppose I should get up but…"

"No problem, Katara." Aang interrupted "I can help you do anything you need to do."

"Aang, slow down." Katara laughed "I'm down, not out." She awkwardly stumbled out of bed and Aang stood up after her. "But if you want, you can help me clean up the basement; it stinks down there and I don't want Master Pakku catching anything when he's down there since he's too lazy to do it himself."

"That doesn't seem like much fun." Aang whined playfully.

Katara kissed his cheek, "Please? I'm sure it won't be too bad."

"Fine." He acquiesced to please his girlfriend as she led him downstairs.

The basement was a small, tight, hot little room that was coated in a thick layer of grey dust. Old dog-eared books and magazines were tossed around haphazardly. Odd nick-nacks and odds-and-ends were placed in bookshelves. An old-fashioned, green dress that had once been eye-catching hung on a nail in the back of the room, unnoticed and unwanted. A broken crib lay in pieces beneath the dress; in it, lay a well-worn fabric doll in a torn gingham dress.

While tidying up in the basement, Aang stumbled over a small, dark grey briefcase. It was peeling and falling apart. The thick layer of dust seemed to be painted on; something told Aang that grey had not been it's original color. He looked at it closly, but it didn't look like much but a dirty rectangle.

"What's this?" he wondered, lifting it into the light to get a better view, the ancient dust staining his fingers.

"Let me see that." Katara brushed off some of the dust with a grey rag and saw _K. Shimizu _faintly embroidered on the front. "It's my uncle's. His name was Kang Shimizu. I never met him before because he was killed before I was born. Sokka might remember him but he was really young when it happened."

"Why would anyone go after him?"

"I have no idea." Katara answered "My mom used to tell me stories about him, how he was all goofy and smart at the same time, how girls seemed to love and how he seemed like a dork but was one of the coolest guys around. I wish I got to know him; all I have are stories."

"That sounds familiar, like someone I know." Aang thought aloud. "But I can't put my finger on it."

Katara's mood dropped quickly. "I miss my mom." She declared suddenly "She was my best friend."

"What happened to her?"

"She died in a fire set by raiders. I was only eight years old." Her eyes started to mist over. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Aang took her hand in his and looked at her with concerned grey eyes "Sorry. I get a bit emotional when I think about my mom. Really, I'm fine."

"That's okay." Aang was glad to know she was alright. He didn't release her hand "Was your uncle a lawyer or something?"

"Yeah, but he was into a lot of things: music, politics, old detective shows, and especially food." She smiled a little. "I heard he was quirky like that."

"Weird, I've never heard of a 'quirky' lawyer." Aang laughed. Katara joined him.

As they continued cleaning, they came across several items thought of be lost or stolen or simply forgotten. Toys, books, jewelry, scraps of clothing. While picking up a broken record, Aang looked back at the Kang Yang's briefcase. He set the record down and began examining it closer, trying to open it.

"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara looked up from the dust-covered green dress. Avoiding the broken crib, she moved over to where Aang fidgeted with the briefcase.

"I'm trying to see if I can open-oh, got it!"

Katara stopped dusting an old painting and leaned over his shoulder. "What's in it?" she asked.

Aang sat down on the dusty floor and, with Katara standing over him, began to leaf through the various legal documents. "Lawyer stuff."

"What a surprise!" Katara cried in false shock. "Let's put that back and finish cleaning this mess."

"Hold on, look at this." Aang insisted, pulling out a small, handwritten note "It's a note from your uncle."

It was a old, crumpled piece of yellowing paper, with one side torn as if it had been ripped out of book; the handwriting erratic and hard to read, as if Kang wrote while having a seizure. Aang handed it to his girlfriend and she read it aloud.

_To my beloved friend, Atsuo Gao:_

_Atsuo, I have uncovered some disturbing news regarding the bill M.T.B.. The proposer, Sozin Qing Long, appears to have affiliations with Atsushi Zhang, the self-proclaimed leader of the raiders. I think this bill has something to do with the attacks that have been plaguing the city recently. He used the raids to win the support of the people in Huo. His son, Azulon, appears to be keeping the family tradition alive by adding amendments that will keep police from arresting someone for a crime committed in a district that they don't belong to. Meet me on corner of Wang St. and Yao Ave. Saturday night at 7 p.m. to discuss this. Bring Anika if you can find her. We need to fight this._

_Your friend, Kang Shimizu_

"What does that mean?" Katara wondered.

"It means that the bill should never have been made into a law. Azulon Qing Long manipulated his own people to hurt other people." Aang stood up furiously, took the letter from her hand, and began to read it for himself.

"So the raiders would be able to attack anyone they pleased and never get in trouble for it." Katara was so angry, she bit her lip.

"But I've never heard of this amendment." Aang was confused for a moment.

"It probably never got passed." Katara muttered, still furious "Good thing."

"So this Sozin guy is the reason people are afraid to hang with people in a different part of the city." As the words came out of his mouth, Aang suddenly became aware of stupid they sounded. His childhood teachers had taught that people from Huo, people from Shui, and people from Diqui would never get along with him because they were too different and he had once believed them. But thinking back…man! This is where that idea came from-from some crazy politician with an ulterior motive.

Aang ran her hand through his short, black hair and sighed. "This letter is years old; it doesn't mean anything now."

"Maybe it does." Katara said "The letter said something about 'family tradition'. If the bill was already passed, why would there be a need to continue the raids for all those years unless it was a way of keeping the Qing Longs in power; they've won every election in Huo since Sozin's time."

"If they had a raider connection, wouldn't they advertise it so that Huo people would know who to vote for?"

"No; connections to organized crime is illegal but saying you support it isn't. It's genius. It's awful, but genius."

"And people buy into that?" Aang shook his head "We need to tell someone."

"They won't believe us." Katara answered miserable "Besides, it's mostly just a theory."

"It's worth looking into." Aang insisted.

"Aang, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're fifteen. Who's going take us seriously if we say that a hundred years ago, a well-respected council member used violence to take over part of the city?"

He paused for a minute "If we get enough evidence, we can build a case."

"A case? You want to sue someone a dead man?"

"No, it's like you said-tradition. If we can prove that Sozin started the use of the raiders in elections, we can prove that whoever's in charge now…"-"Ozai Qing Long"-"…Yeah him. We might be able to prove that he still uses it. You said it yourself; connections to criminal organizations are illegal. We can finally get justice for everything that family's done to the city."

Katara inhaled sharply._ 'How could a simple chore bring me to a political conspiracy?'_ she thought to herself.

"Katara?"

"You're right, Aang. We need to tell someone about this." A second later, the front door upstairs slammed open. "C'mon."

They went upstairs to find that Sokka had come for a visit. "Where are Gran-Gran and Master Pakku?"

"They went out." Katara replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see if you were doing alright." Sokka answered.

Katara smiled a little "I fine, but I'd be better if could go home."

"Dad said you can move back in a few days."

"I don't get why you didn't have to come." Katara huffed.

Sokka answered "You're the sick, injured girl. Everyone wants you to be safe."

"Right," Aang added sarcastically "Sick girls are always the prettiest; that's why everyone wants to take care of them."

"Oh, my," Katara faked coughed several time "How can I go on in my condition? 'cough, cough' I'm wasting away…" she fake fainted into Aang arms "My love 'cough' don't forget me." They all burst out laughing at her unconvincing "death".

"How!" Sokka gasped in an overdramatic tone "How I could I let my dear, sweet baby sister die? How could I never tell her I love her? How could I forget to close the front door?"

"Sokka, you're so ridiculous!" Katara laughed as she "resurrected" "That's why I love that you're my brother; you always make me laugh."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for." He shrugged.

Aang suddenly remembered what they had been planning to tell him. Her put his hand on Katara's shoulder and whispered in her ear "Should we tell him now?"

Instantly, the atmosphere changed, the jovial mood vanished, and Katara stiffened.

"Tell me what?" Sokka noticed the sudden change. Surprised, he looked back and forth between his sister and his best friend. "What?"

"We found thing of Uncle Kang's in the basement today." Katara explained.

"Okay, so?"

"It has something to do with the raiders." Aang continued, noticing the change in Sokka expression, "We think Kang might have know about some connection between them and the council of Huo."

Sokka scoffed "I don't like those stuffy politicians anymore than the next guy, but do you really think they have something to do with all the raider attacks? What do they possible have to gain from sending random people to attack other random people?"

"It's a nationalism thing" Katara argued "Soft-of. A hundred years is when the raids began. At that same time, Azulon Qing Long won a seat on the city council."

"So?" Sokka remained skeptical. "What does that prove?"

"Nothing-yet. We need to find proof." Aang finished.

"Proof? Proof! Do you guys realize that what you're doing is completely insane? You want to go back a hundred years to prove that some guy might have sent some guys to attack people to help his political career. Do you realize how insane that sounds?"

"Yes we do." Katara insisted passionately "But if there's that slighted chance that this is true… Uncle Kang wrote that letter because he knew that something was going down." Slowly, a sick realization sank in "And someone knew that he knew. That's why he was killed."

Her throat tightened and she felt sick. Sicker than she had been since she had felt upon hearing the news of Yue's death. Sicker than when she had been kidnapped in the parking lot. Her uncle tried to do the right thing and because of some sick Huo logic, she never got to meet him. Anger like she'd never felt burned through her veins and radiated from her skin like the glow of lantern.

"Katara, are you okay," Sokka, still trying to process the new assessment of his uncle death, was shocked (and frankly, a little scared) at the change in his sister. "What's wrong?"

How light the mood was when he walked in…how quickly the whole thing turned bitter.

"We don't have a mother or an uncle because of this man. Sokka, do you still think this isn't worth looking into."

Sokka sighed and put his hands on her shoulders "I don't know where you're going, but I'm going with you."

"So am I." Aang declared. He took her hand and pulled them both into a group hug.

"Thanks guys." Katara said gratefully when they pulled away.

"So where do we start?" Sokka asked.

"With the people Uncle Kang was trying to contact."

_Atsuo Gao. Anika_

"Who do you think think they were?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know." Katara asked. "We can ask Gran-Gran if she anyone with those names."

"Friends? Maybe coworkers?" Aang suggested.

Katara thought about it for a second. "Whoever these people were, he trusted them, so we can trust them. If we can find them."

"Wait," Sokka said "What if we can't. What if they had something to do with his death."

"The note was in his briefcase and nobody's opened it since he left it in his room the morning he died. They probably never got the letter." Katara argued softly.

"So?" Sokka remained skeptical.

"He didn't give them any information. What reason would they have to betray him?"

"What reason do we have to believe they didn't kill him for some other reason?" Sokka shot back.

"He was killed by _raiders_." Katara screamed "Friends don't just betray each other."

Aang stepped in between them, "Hold on guys. Let's not speculate anything yet. We need to find out who Atsuo Gao and Anika were, then we can start making theories. We can't believe anything until we have the facts."

"Aang's right." Katara reined in her temper, "We need to get the facts first."

"Fine, whatever." Sokka muttered.


	12. Sad Little Story

It was late spring and the weather was mild that slow, sleepy Saturday afternoon. While the western portion of the sky was bright orange, eastern part dark blue, for it was nearing dusk, and the sun was quietly sinking below the horizon. Three friends stood in front of a old, ugly house in Tui, near the northern city limit, on a completely deserted street. Two rows of empty houses stared back at them with their ghostly, blank windows that oddly resembled empty eye sockets. A light breeze played with the edges of Katara's knee-length blue dress. Aang and Sokka wore their jackets-orange and blue respectively-loose and open. The gloomy silence was deafening, like in a horror movie.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Aang asked for the umpteenth time. He nervously looked over his shoulder, as if waiting for someone or something to come out and scare them.

"Yup, this is defiantly the place; it's the address I found." Katara said holding a slip of paper with the name and address she had copied out of the phone book.

"How'd you find this guy?" Sokka asked getting out of the car his father had given him for his sixteenth birthday.

Katara turned back to him, pushed some strands of hair out of her face, and said "The phone book. It's pretty useful when you want to look for someone who lives in the same city as you."

"Hey, leave the snarky-ness to me, okay?" He walked up to the worn wooden porch as looked around the overgrown, poorly cared for lawn that full of litter and dog poop. The paint had lost its color and was now pale and chipping away. A few windows were boarded up; there were no shutters or curtains. "Doesn't look like someone's been in there for a while."

Aang took his hands out of the pockets of his orange hoodie. "Only one way to find out." He reached out and knocked on the door. Five minutes passed before he decided to knock again, louder. "Maybe no one home?" As the disappointed trio turned to leave, the doorknob turned and the door creaked.

In the doorway, half covered by the door itself, was an old man. His long, thin limbs seemed misplaced on his broad, large torso. The skin on his face sagged and hung limply his skull, making him seem at least Gran-Gran's age. The thin grayish brown hair that scantily covered his head and prickly beard didn't help much either.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a soft, slightly rusty voice. His tone was polite but he seemed barley present, as if he were daydreaming.

Katara stepped up to him and answered "Hello, my name is Katara this is brother Sokka and my boyfriend Aang. Actually, you can help us."

"Hello, what do you need?"

"Do you know an Atsuo Gao? Or anyone named Anika?" Katara asked expectantly.

The pale old man exhaled deeply, "I'm Atsuo Gao but I didn't know anyone named Anika."

Aang spoke up "Did you anyone name Kang Shimizu? He was their uncle." He gestured to Katara and Sokka.

Atsuo became slightly more alert and much sadder. "Yeah I knew Kang; he was my best friend. When he died, it tore me apart."

Katara pulled out the old yellowed note, softened with age, which she had found. "We found this note. It was from my uncle and addressed to you. Probably the last note he ever wrote."

Atsou took it in his trembling hands and read through it quickly. The kids saw the transformation on his face when he finally looked up. His pale blue eyes became alarmed and his demeanor more nervous. Somehow, this wasn't surprising. "You kids better forget about this."

"But…" Katara started but Atsou interrupted her.

"Trust, it'll do you know good to snoop around in stuff when you've got no business in. Just leave it at that. It's not worth it."

"Not worth it!" Katara cried angrily "My uncle, your best friend, died because of what was in this note! How could you just…"

"GIVE UP!" Atsuo was practically yelling now. He rubbed his wrinkly forehead. "Listen kid, I know where you're getting at-trust me. I was like you a long time ago and look where it got me. Huo is just too strong. You fight a war you can't win. I was twenty five when Kang died and he was two years older than I was. If we could do anything significant, what's so different about you that makes you think you can? You're not even out of school yet."

"We're not quitters. That's what different." Katara squared her shoulders, "You think you can stop pursuing peace because your best friend died but you know what, you can't. My uncle and mother were killed by raiders; one of my closest friends was almost blown up; Sokka's girlfriend was kidnapped and murdered; I was kidnapped too. But do you see _me_ hiding in _my_ house where it's safe and quiet?"

She was close to tears at that point. Aang put his arm around her shoulders trying to comfort her "It's okay, Katara. Calm down." She looked up at him with misty blue eyes but quickly looked down.

Atsuo stood in the doorway completely shocked; he would probably be less shocked if she had walked up and spat in his face.

"I'm sorry for sister's behavior; we won't bother you anymore." Sokka apologized and the three of them stated back to the car.

"Hey wait!" To their surprise, Atsuo called the back, "I understand you've been through a lot." He shifted his weight to his left foot and put his hands in his pockets, "If you want to what that note meets, I'll tell you. Just come inside for a minute.

With almost no hesitation, Katara, Aang, and Sokka took him up on his offer and followed him inside. The interior was a little better than the exterior. Atsuo escorted them to the living room, near the front of the house. It was full of old, outdated furniture, fake plants, and a million photographs of friends and family. The trio sat down on an ancient, uncomfortable sofa, with Katara in the center, and waited for Atsuo to begin talking. Before telling his tale, he made himself some tea. He set his teacup on the coffee table and sat right in front of then a slightly new looking armchair. His hands trembled as he told his story:

_I remember the day I first met Kang Shimizu. It my first day of middle school and I was being teased by some older kids. I had just moved from La and so you can imagine the new kid made things more difficult. Then Kang showed up and told them to stop. They didn't listen; in fact, they beat us both up. From then I followed him around like a little duckling, thinking he was . He was annoyed at first, but he warmed up to me. He was the only friend I had for a long time._

_We used to do everything together: ride bikes, go to movies, all the generic best friend stuff. Kang was like a big brother to me. He stood us for me- who am I kidding he stood up for everyone; he couldn't stand to see people picked on. Of course his parents liked me but his sister, Kya, hated me. She was way younger than the both of us and we both thought she was horribly annoying. She said I was a pest and we argued like **we** were the brother and sister, not brother's friend and sister. Years passed and we became more civil to each other, but we were never quite friends. Meanwhile, Kang and I got as close as two friends could get. _

_We grew up and we both became lawyers. __One of his first cases was defending a young woman accused of stealing in Huo. Normally, an attorney from Huo would look at her case, but they were all busy with cases of assault and robbery; it was during a time when the raider attacks were increasing, and the courts were up to their ears in young men and woman sitting in jail. It was one of the few times they made an exception. The young woman he had to defend was Anika Sato, the woman whose name is on that note. She was found innocent and started going out with Kang. I told him it was stupid, to get involved with a client, especially one from another district. But he never listened; he was really hardheaded. They kept the relationship secret for a long time-three years to be exact. She hung out with us and she'd come by our workplaces and we'd come by her's. I got used to see her around. She was my second best friend. Over time she became a fixture in our lives and we were the only good things in hers._

_Eventually, she knew she couldn't keep living at home with her parents and dating Kang at the same time, so she moved into her own place. When that happened, her brother got suspicious and somehow he found out about the relationship. He was furious. Kang and Anika hadn't done anything illegal, but her brother's mind, they might as well of committed murder. He got a couple of his friends and they... _Atsuo wiped away a tear and put his head in his hands._ Anika was so devastated. Her brother went to jail. She fell apart.__ In the end, she decided that being with Kang was the most important thing to her, so she decided to go to the grave with him._

Aang, Sokka, and Katara sat in silence, awed by the new details of Kang's death and the fact that Anika had killed herself over it. Katara especially was disturbed. If Kang died because of his choice of girlfriend, nobody knew about the note or about Sozin Qing Long's corruption.

"So, you didn't know anything about the note or Sozin Qing Long?" Aang asked.

Atsuo shook his head, "Sorry kids. All I know is that Kang died and Anika couldn't stand to be without him."

Sokka wasn't convinced, "People die all the time; why would she so far as to kill herself?"

Atsuo continued shaking his head, "Why wouldn't she?" he snorted bitterly "Anika's life was a mess. Parent's didn't like her-they were planning to kick her out before she moved out on her own; brother abused her; got in trouble with the law at the time; had trouble holding down a job. That poor woman was fragile and Kang was like a guardian angel to her. I knew where she'd end up after he died and she knew where she'd edu up when her died; death would be easy compared to that."

Sokka raised an eyebrow.

Atsou took a sip of his tea and continued "You kids have a roof over your heads and parents that care if you're in your bed in the morning. Anika didn't have that. She wasn't a strong woman; sweet, vivacious, great to be around, but you set her on her own two feet and she'll fall down faster than you can blink. She'd be on the street, selling drugs, taking drugs, whoring herself out to make a quick buck. She didn't know how to play the cards she'd been given."

Katara looked down at her hands, full of pity for the tragically pathetic woman her uncle had loved. It wasn't that she could have been in the same situation; it was that she never would have been. She was too driven, too motivated, and too stubborn to let herself go like that. She looked up at Atsuo again, "So what are we going to do about the note?"

"What can we do?" Atsuo asked sadly "It was news written a hundred years ago. Sozin Qing Long is dead and we have no proof that his descendents are following in his footsteps. It's not relevant anymore; it won't do any good."

"Okay but look at it this way: the note said something about 'family tradition'" Aang interjected, "Why would there be raider attacks if the bill gave them what they wanted?"

"I don't follow." Astuo's pale, haggard face seemed to droop more when he frowned.

"We think that the Qing Longs are organizing raider attacks to make the people vote them into office." Sokka explained, "Every Hou congressmen since Sozin, the dude that started it by passed that stupid bill, has been a Qing-Long. Coincidence? We don't think so."

"If the Qing Longs were organizing the raiders, they've been arrested a long time ago." Astuo face got paler and droopier.

"But get this," Katara said defensively "Everyone else knows that they're secretive. We don't know anything about their family, or their credentials or anything. People of Huo are defensive; they'd protect the Qing Longs for decades- that's exactly what they've been doing!"

"You say that as if you know its fact." Atsuo observed coolly. Katara's patience was wearing thin. Atsuo took another sip, "I can see in your eyes, girl. You're not letting this go until some justice has been served." Katara nodded stiffly "You ever stop and think about the consequences of your actions?"

Katara was genuinely surprised, "What do you mean?"

"I'm no fool, little girl. I've seen what you've done. You held that memorial a few weeks ago and them _**boom**_, we have a riot on our hands."

"My memorial had nothing to do with that riot." Katara said standing up. Her teeth clenched together and her eyes were bright with flames of indignation. How _dare_ he!

"You said it yourself; the Qing Longs are behind the raiders' attacks. You challenged them; humiliated them. You made a big deal about that girl's death and made Huo look bad. Do you think the people of Huo were gonna lay there and take it?"

"I wasn't trying to make anyone look bad!" she shouted.

"There's a difference between what we plan to do and what we actually do." Atsuo argued "I heard about what happened to you during the riot; you were all over the news. Do you think those kids were gonna grab the first person that came their way. High school kids don't do that unless someone tells them to."

"So you're saying Katara's a target?" Aang asked, worried.

Atsuo nodded and looked at Katara, "I understand that you just want everyone to get along, but you're too direct. It scares them."

Katara relaxed slightly "What should I do then?"

"Lay low." Atsuo suggested "Keep your mouth shut and work in the dark."

What does that mean?" Sokka asked.

"It's a word the guys down at the law firm used when they were investigating: don't draw attention to yourself when you're looking for evidence and no-one will try to stop you."

"Then I guess we'd better start looking proof to back up our theory." Aang said.

"You kids don't know the first thing about looking for clues._ I'll_ look for proof; it was my job for nearly thirty years."


	13. Family

The beginning of summer was met with trepidation, as it was every year. While the students of Yuansu City were ecstatic to be freed of their lesson, anxiety buzzed in the air like a swarm of flies that constantly struck at the victims' nerves. Summer meant, for Yuansu City, tension among the districts. Kids with too many places to go were the problem. A few kids would be cocky and start sneaking into other districts- it was called the Seek. The Seek traditionally lasted two full weeks, beginning the first Saturday after school had been released. The purpose was to sneak into as many places outside your home district as possible and to bring proof or a witness. In some circles, the Seek was a kind of rite of passage. But to most, it was just plain stupid and horribly annoying. Besides, only middle school-er partook in the Seek and nobody takes middle school-ers seriously.

Azula had enough with those idiots; she was hot, tired, and thoroughly annoyed. The home of the council head was a frequent target for Seek brat. _'The bragging rights had better be worth it.'_ Azula thought scornfully. _'What a stupid idea! Who was the idea that first thought of it. I'd like to shoot him with lighting and see if he'd come back.'_ Nearly fifty kids, most of them were still in middle schools, crawled, slithered, and hid behind bushes in hopes of getting past the guards. None of them made it; they were all kicked out.

Ty Lee was visiting that day, and she looked out over the Qing Long escape hoping to find some Seekers before any of the guards did. Azula sat on the steps of the patio, her bare toes digging into the grass. She was rather bored watching Ty Lee makes a fool of herself, running around looking for obnoxious little kids.

"Ty Lee, time to come in!" Azula finally called.

Ty Lee poked her head out of a tree, "What are you my mother or something?" She climbed down from her tree.

Azula narrowed eyes. _'Since was Ty Lee one to be so snarky?'_ "Don't you get tired of running around like an idiot?"

"Not really." Ty Lee grinned. The two "friends" stared each other down for a few moments. In that instant, something changed between them.

"Maybe it's time you left." Azula said looking away from her.

Ty Lee looked serious for a minute, "Ya,you know what, maybe I should leave." she dashed inside and grabbed her purse. Azula want in after her

"Bye Azula." She said hastily as she walked out the door without a glance back.

Azula stood in the middle of her living room, stunned; she never thought Ty Lee would snub her so….so…_ever!_ Perhaps Mai had already decided to abandon her as well.

"Azula!" her father roared from inside.

She jumped, frightened, having only heard that tone used on her brother. Reluctantly, she went upstairs to her father's office. "D-Daddy?"

Ozai was downright furious, but he didn't show it. He face was void of emotion but his voice boiled over with rage. He sat at his desk, his hands clenched into fists. "Do you think I'm a fool, Azula?" he nearly roared.

Azula shook her head franticly "Of course not Daddy."

"You are to address me as Father." He growled.

"Yes Father." Azula squeaked as she looked down at her feet. In less than a minute, Ozai had reduced the fearless Azula into a frightened child.

"Do you think that you could carry out deals with raiders and organize riots and kidnappings without me knowing?"

Azula head snapped up in shock. "The Boss told you?" The Boss had sworn to secrecy and as far as she knew, kept his promises.

"I _am_ The Boss, you stupid girl!" Ozai shouted as he leapt from his desk. Azula fought the urge to run away at that moment. "Had it been anyone else, you'd be dead! What was the first thing I thought you about people?"

"T-tr-trust no one." Azula stuttered in a small voice.

"_**Why?**_"

"B-because trust is for fo-."

"Stop that incessant stuttering; what are you, an idiot or something?" Ozai began to circle her like a shark hunting its prey. "You've grown soft, weak. Is that the kind of daughter I raised? Have become a failure like your brother?"

"You can't treat me like Zuko!" she cried in fear-laced indignation.

"Then you must be strong than him, more ruthless."

"Yes Father." She said in a stronger voice.

"He deserved to die; he shouldn't have defiled himself with that Diqui girl."

"He needs to be punished." Azula sneered.

"Yes, Azula, he does. And you're going to be the one to punish him."

"How?" Azula voice was full of mad excitement, her previous meekness forgotten.

Ozai walked back to his, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small, old-fashioned handgun Azula's excitement inflated. She didn't need to be told what her father wanted her to do when he put the gun in her hands.

"This gun has been in our family for a hundred years. Our ancestor, Sozin Qing-Long, used it to kill his rival, Roku Ping-Heng. That was the beginning of his political career and the Dynasty to which you are heiress. Do you think are worthy to the ranks of the most powerful family in the city?"

"Absolutely!" Azula nodded.

"Then you must kill the person of my choosing, your brother Zuko."

"I get to kill Little Zu-zu!" Azula grinned wickedly.

"Yes, you'll make a good heiress; I knew you would." He praised, sitting in his desk "Your brother is too weak to claim his inheritance, and for that he must die."

"Yes father." Azula couldn't keep the twisted joy out of her voice. Ozai dismissed her. She in her bedroom and carefully hide the gun in an empty jewelry box. She took the box and hide it under a pile of blankets in a dark little closet in the basement.

)-()-()-()-(

Iroh Qing Long wished he was more of family man, but if you took a good look at his family, you'd understand why he wasn't. His father, mother, and son were dead, his sister-in-law was missing, he was estranged from his younger brother, and his niece wanted nothing to with him. The only relative he had left was his sullen, hot-headed nephew. Despite Zuko's dark outlook on life, he seemed to genuinely appreciate his uncle's company, seeing as he spent more time in his uncle's coffee shop or at his home than in his own home. The two were becoming closer every day and Iroh had even caught himself thinking of Zuko as his own son. To make things better, Zuko seemed to be branching out his shell a little. He made a made a new friend, a girl named Suki.

But to Iroh, something still felt wrong. As he walked about his shop, checking up on customers, he thought about his niece, Azula. Over the span of a few weeks, she had become different, more irritable and she constantly carried an air of insufferable superiority. Her attitude toward others had been colder and more detached, even her closest friends -the casual observer would doubt they were even acquaintances.

One quiet Friday night, Iroh found Azula sitting alone in a booth, craning her neck every few minutes as if waiting for someone. Something about her was more off than usual, her hair was undone and slightly messy and she looked like she hadn't slept in while. He walked over to her to see what was wrong."

"Azula, are you alright?" Iroh asked in a gentle tone.

"I'm_ fine_. Beside, why do you care?" she snapped harshly.

"I am only concerned for your well-being." Iroh scolded softly.

Azula snorted, "Of course you are." she turned in her seat so that her back would be to him. Iroh sighed and went back to the kitchen of his shop. Zuko was there with Suki; the two of them were testing out his newest tea flavors.

Suki finished a cut of jasmine tea and grinned at Iroh "Hey Mr. Qing Long, why don't you sell tea in your shop? This is way nicer than the coffee-no offense to your coffee-making skills."

"Thank you dear, but I don't think most people would appreciate the fine tea; I've tried to sell it before, it wasn't nearly as successful as the coffee." Iroh walked over to the counter and began putting away the teacups and teapot, "I love tea, don't get me wrong, but business is business. Maybe someday, the rest of my customers will love it as much as I do." He winked.

"Uncle, is Azula still out there?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, I think so. How long has she been sitting in that booth?"

"_All day._" Suki answered. "She hasn't moved since this morning."

Iroh frowned, "I asked her if she was alright and she said she was, but something is wrong with her." He turned to Suki, "It's getting late; perhaps you should go home."

Suki shrugged, gathered her bag, gave Zuko a goodbye hug, and left through the back door.

"Zuko," Iroh said when they were totally alone, "There is something seriously wrong with your sister."

"Tell me about it." Zuko agreed, rolling his eyes.

"I am serious; she has become a shell of her former self, she refuses to talk to anyone; it's not healthy."

"Well what do you want me to do about it Uncle?"

"Talk to her."

"But you just said-"

"Azula needs her brother."

Zuko's shoulders stooped in defeat. After all, how could he say he didn't want to help his little sister-even if she was cold, viciously cruel, borderline sociopathic, and have an ego the size of Jupiter?

"Fine, I'll see what I can do." Zuko walked out of the kitchen and up to where Azula was sitting. When she caught sight of him, she seemed to brighten, but in an oddly disturbing way. "Azula-"

"I'm fine." She said quickly "Let's go home."

Zuko flinched in surprise; this was really out of character for her. Normally, Azula didn't want to go anywhere with him. Azula either didn't notice his reaction of didn't care. She got up, grabbed Zuko by the wrist, and dragged him out with her. Once outside, Zuko wrestle himself out of her grasp.

"What's_ with_ you?" he demanded hotly.

"Nothing." She insisted, "I just want to go home."

"No, something's seriously wrong about you." Zuko watched her as she reached for something in her purse. "Azula…"

She ran away from him and down an alley.

"Azula!" Zuko cried in shock. He chased her down several streets until they ended up in a maze of alleys somewhere in the more isolated part of Zhong Xing. "AZULA! Where are you!" his voice held both fear and rage; fear for her-and his- safety; rage at her for going crazy and putting him in this situation.

"I'm right here Zu-zu." said a cold, familiar voice.

Zuko turned to see his sister down the alley, holding a gun and pointing it his direction. "Azula…" he rasped in shock.

"You wouldn't understand how good this feels." She cackled. She pulled the trigger… and ran.

)-()-()-()-(

The rumors began immediately. Most liked to think that Zuko was doing for attention, that he had lied about his beautiful, perfect, well-mannered little sister trying to kill. It seemed to fit their idea of what the Qing Long family was like: the moody, jealous older brother telling a lie to slander his clear much better sister in a cheap attempt to get attention.

After all, there were many unanswered questions that Zuko could not answere for them:

Where did she get the gun?

Why would she shot him?

What proof did he have?

Was it all her doing, or was there someone else involved.

He mentioned that she had been acting odd all day, but that alone wasn't enough to prove she had done it. The bullet missed and seemed to disappear, so there was not even physical proof that anyone had tried shoot him. He called the police, but they didn't believe him; and he got a awful beating from his father after the police left. For Zuko, it was extremely to know Azula had tried to kill him-_and that she might again_-and have everyone revile and mock him for telling the truth.

It had been almost a week since the incident and he had only gone home twice; Iroh had provided him a refuge in his home. An hour after school ended the following attack, Zuko sat in the back of the school, sulking. He sat under a cafeteria window, out of view of the world with his knees under his chin and his arms around his legs.

"Is this where you've been?" a soft but fierce voice asked him. He looked up to see Suki looking down at him. She was wearing an old paint-splattered tee-shirt and faded jeans but she approached him as a lawyer could approach a judge, as if prepared to argue with him. Suddenly, Zuko felt extremely guilty. He had seen Suki but a few times the previous week, and hadn't spoken to her at all. He hadn't been intentionally avoiding her, but he had kept his distance from everyone. How could he think to shut out one of the few people that had even been nice to him?

Despite his clear apprehension, she gracefully sat down next to him. "I believe you." She whispered compassionatly.

Zuko stayed silent. Finally he muttered, "Thanks Suki. That means a lot." He shut his eyes so she wouldn't see that he had been crying.

"I think I can help you prove that Azula tried to kill you." At that, his head snapped in surprise; she had his full attention. "My friends have reason to believe that your family's got a bloody history and that it might have had something to do with Azula trying to murder you."

"That doesn't make sense. Who believes that? How would they know?" Zuko asked skeptically.

"Well, they don't anything for sure," Suki explained, "But they've got circumstantial evidence and a theory. If you work with them, you can get Azula in prison where she belongs and they can prove that your family has ties to organized crime."

…

…

…

"That's insane." Zuko said finally.

"I know it is, but other chance have you got."

"Who are these friends of yours?"

"Toph Bei Fong; Katara and Sokka Yang; Aang Avatar."

"I think I've a few of those names before. What do they think this whole situation?"

"They think your ancestor, Sozin Qing Long, started the whole raider business and that your grandfather and father continued it."

"That's no secret." Zuko said bluntly.

"It's not?" Suki cried in a confused tone.

Zuko shook his head, "Not in Hou anyway." Suki waited for him to explain "It's like this: it's a dirty little secret that everyone knows and believes but people would chop off their own tongue before they'd admit it. It's really complex; on one hand, people love him for doing it but on the other, they're embarrassed about it-they don't want anyone who's not from Huo knowing that they're most celebrated leader was little more than a power-hungry gangster."

"If you told that to my friends, and any other secrets you know…"

"What? You just want me give out all of Huo's secrets to a bunch of crazy kids who don't know what they're talking about!" Zuko growled.

"Those crazy kids who don't know what they're talking about are trying to help you!" Suki responded angrily. She took out a sheet of paper and scribbled the kids' names and phone numbers on it as Zuko watched her guiltily.

"Suki, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Zuko apologized.

"No you should have." She agreed darkly. She handed him the sheet of paper and left.


End file.
